Bramleys are the whole point of this Hairy Bikers apple pie recipe, 600g of them sliced thin with cinnamon and cornflour. Perfect Pies calls it the perfect apple pie, and 6 slices come in at about 740 calories after 1 hour 35.
Nothing tastes better than an apple pie, Si and Dave reckon, calling theirs “a proper celebration of the great British Bramley”. And the cornflour is why it works, because 2 tbsp of it thickens the juice the apples throw out as they soften.
Put a baking tray in the oven while it heats up, then sit the pie dish straight onto the hot metal. That starts the base cooking from below, so the bottom pastry crisps instead of going soggy under the fruit.
Hairy Bikers Apple Pie
Description
Apple pie needs a filling piled higher than the dish, because the apples collapse a long way as they cook. Scrape every bit of the sugary juice in on top of them, then seal the lid on and let the oven do the rest.
Ingredients
For the Sweet Shortcrust Pastry
For the Filling
Instructions
- Make the pastry: Rub the butter into the flour, sugar and lemon zest until it looks like breadcrumbs, then stir in the beaten egg. Bring it into a dough, then split it two thirds for the base and one third for the lid.
- Line the dish: Roll the larger piece to the thickness of a £1 coin and 5 to 7cm wider than the dish, so it overhangs by 1 to 2cm. Lift it over the rolling pin, drop it into the dish and press it firmly up the sides with no air bubbles.
- Chill and heat: Chill the lined dish while you make the filling, then preheat the oven to 200°C/Fan 180°C/Gas 6. Put a baking tray in the oven now so it is properly hot when the pie goes in.
- Mix the filling: Mix the sugar, cinnamon and cornflour in a large bowl, then peel, core and thinly slice the apples into it. Toss everything together well so every slice is coated in the spiced sugar.
- Fill it high: Tip the filling into the dish so it rises above the edge, then scrape all the sugary juices over the top.
- Lid it: Brush the rim with beaten egg, roll the second piece of pastry and lay it over the pie. Press the edges together, trim the excess and crimp all the way round, then cut a few small holes in the middle.
- Leaves from the trimmings: Knead the trimmings lightly, re-roll them and cut out leaf shapes. Lay them round the edge of the pie slightly overlapping, then glaze the lot with beaten egg.
- Bake: Sprinkle with sugar and bake on the hot tray for 45 to 55 minutes until golden. Cover the top with foil if it browns too fast, then serve it hot or cold.
FAQs
Do I have to use Bramleys?
Bramleys are what the recipe is built around, and Si and Dave say so in the headnote. They break down into a soft tart puree that eating apples will not give you, since those hold their shape and stay sweet.
You need 600g peeled and cored, which is two or three large ones depending on the size. Use eating apples only if that is all you have, then cut the sugar back because they are far sweeter already.
Why is my pastry base soggy?
The usual cause is juice soaking into raw pastry before the heat reaches it. Their website version solves it differently, by blind baking the case first and dusting semolina over the base.
That semolina drinks up the juice as the apples cook, so it never touches the pastry underneath. Borrow the trick here if you like, using a tablespoon scattered over the base before the apples go in.
How do I stop the filling shrinking away from the lid?
Pile it well above the rim of the dish rather than level with it. 600g of sliced apple looks like far too much going in, then it sinks by a third or more in the oven.
A level filling leaves a gap under the lid and the pastry caves into it when you cut the pie. Scraping the sugary juices over the top helps too, because that liquid is what glues the slices together.
How much cinnamon should I use?
The recipe gives half to one teaspoon, and Si and Dave say about a teaspoon does the trick for them. Use less if you want the apple to come through more clearly, since Bramleys have plenty of flavour of their own.
This is an easy pie to make despite the double crust, because the pastry is a straight rub-in with no resting time. Only the lined dish goes in the fridge, and that happens while you slice the apples anyway.
Can I add blackberries?
You can, and they have a whole recipe for it in British Classics. Their apple and blackberry pie is this exact recipe with 200g of blackberries added, and nothing else changes at all.
Same 600g of Bramleys, same pastry, same sugar and cornflour, same six servings. If you would rather skip the pastry, their apple and blackberry crumble uses 300g of blackberries and takes 65 minutes.
