As a child, I have never been a lover of pastries or pies and it is fair to say neither do I do a lot of baking. However, if there is one baked dish that would leave me wanting more, it would have to be apple pie. The first time I fell in love with apple pie, was during my time in Ireland. I was a post graduate student at Trinity College, Dublin and I was invited by my roommate, who was from Cork to spend the weekend with her and her family. I can clearly remember the amount of traditional Irish food, wine and baked dishes prepared. I was excited at the thought that it was in my honour, but soon found out this was a normal setting which happens every Sunday in their house, albeit due to their large family. As I walked closer to the kitchen, I smelt the pie baking in the oven and my mouth watered with anticipation. I can only imagine the taste.
I can remember the first bite being warm, succulent, tangy, juicy and fresh with a perfectly flaky crust. There was a true romance with this pie and before I knew it I had cheekily eaten half of it. No doubt Mrs. Keogh served up her special apple pie, with its perfectly browned crusts oozing with the thick, syrupy juices of the baked apples inside, for she was serving up a family tradition. Mrs. Keogh enjoyed the fact that I loved her food, not leaving a crumb on my plate. To my delight she packed me a goody bag for college filled with snacks, jams, scones, another pie😊and other goods before we set off late that evening. It was the best weekend ever and the beginning of many more like it and my love affair for apple pie.
So, in honour of Mrs. Keogh, I thought it would be fitting to bake some homemade apple pie with my Sofia as she enjoys it as much as I do.
Preparation time:
Less than 30 minutes
Cooking time:
10-30 minutes
Services: 6-8
Ingredients
For the pastry
- 255g/9oz plain flour
- Pinch of salt
- 140g/5oz butter
- 6 tsp cold water
For the filling
- 3 large Bramley cooking apples, chopped, stewed and cooled
- sugar, to taste
- caster sugar, to serve
Method
- Preheat the oven to 200C/180C fan/Gas 6.
- Sieve the flour and salt into a bowl. Rub in the margarine or butter until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add the cold water to the flour mixture. Using a knife, mix the water into the flour, using your hand to firm up the mixture.
- Divide the pastry into two halves. Take one half and roll it out so that it is big enough to cover an 20cm/8in enamel or aluminium pie plate. Trim the edges with a knife using the edge of the plate as your guide. Cover the pastry with the stewed apples and sprinkle with sugar to taste.
- Roll out the other half of the pastry. Moisten the edge of the bottom layer of pastry and place the second piece on top. Press down on the pastry edges, making sure that they are properly sealed. Trim off any excess pastry with a knife in a downward motion, again using the plate as your guide. Flute the edges with a pinching action using your fingers and thumb.
- Prick the surface of the pastry lightly before placing the pie in the oven. Bake for 20–30 minutes. When the pie is cooked it should move slightly on the plate when gently shaken.
- Slide on to a serving plate, dust with caster sugar and serve.
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