Apple Pie

Cook Time 2 hours

Servings 8 (makes 1 tart)

Ingredients

Pastry

150g unsalted butter

35g caster sugar

1 vanilla bean, cut and scraped

Pinch of salt

40g cold water

1 egg yolk

200g plain flour

Plain flour, for dusting

Apple Filling

10 large Granny Smith apples

10g unsalted butter, melted

80g brown sugar

100g caster sugar

½ tsp ground cinnamon

2 tbsp water

Raw or granulated sugar, for sprinkling

Dollop Cream, to serve

Method

Pastry

Place the butter, sugar, vanilla, and salt into a food processor and mix until smooth.

Once there are no lumps of butter remaining, add the cold water and egg, then mix to combine.

Lastly, add the flour and mix until the ingredients just come together as a dough.

Press the dough into an even, flat square, wrap in plastic wrap and allow to chill in the refrigerator for a minimum of 1 hour.

Heat the oven to 160°C, fan forced.

On a lightly floured workbench, roll half of the dough out into a disc, approximately 2-3 mm in thickness. Retain the remaining pastry in the refrigerator until required.

Line a fluted tart tin, 180 mm in diameter, with the pastry disc.

Line the tart base with scrunched baking paper and fill with uncooked rice.

Bake in the pre-heated oven for 15 minutes, then remove the lining and bake for a further 10 minutes, or until cooked through.

Allow to cool before using a serrated-edged knife to trim any excess pastry from the top.

NOTES: If at any stage the dough becomes too soft to handle, place it into the refrigerator to firm up before continuing.

Apple Filling

Heat the oven to 160°C, fan forced. Peel, core and quarter the apples, then cut into individual slices, approximately 8 mm in thickness.

In a bowl, toss the apple slices with the brown and caster sugar, cinnamon, and water, then arrange over a baking tray and bake in the pre-heated oven for 40 minutes. The apples should be cooked through but still hold their shape.

Transfer half of the apples into a bowl and mash with the back of a spoon.

Add the remaining apples into the bowl and mix to incorporate.

Allow to cool completely.

NOTE: Once peeled and cored, you should have approximately 1.2kg of apple flesh.

Assembly

Fill the baked tart shell with the prepared apple filling.

Roll the remaining pastry into a rectangular shape, approximately 4 mm in thickness, then cut it into strips, 20 mm in width, with a sharp knife or pizza cutter. You will require approximately 12 strips, and each strip of dough needs to be longer than the diameter of the tart.

Brush a small amount of water around the top edge of the tart to secure the top pastry.

Arrange the strips of dough in a lattice design over the top of the apple filling.

Place in the freezer for 1 hour.

Heat the oven to 160°C, fan forced.

Pinch together the base pastry and the lattice strips around the edge of the tart.

Brush the top of the pastry with a small amount of water and sprinkle with raw sugar.

Bake in the preheated oven for approximately 50 minutes or until golden-brown in colour.

Serve with cream or ice-cream.

NOTE: Best eaten on the day it is made. Any leftovers can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 days and reheated in the oven before serving.