Stewed Apple Filling
The key to the stewed apple is cooking it down until it has a consistent texture. The sugar in the honey will stabilise the apple once cooled and the lemon juice acts as a flavour enhancer. Be sure to grate the rind of the lemon for the pastry before cutting and juicing it.
1 kg large Granny Smith Apples
3 tbs Pure raw honey
Juice of one lemon (make sure it’s a big lemon, or use two)
1/2 cup water
1. Peel apples and cut into wedges, removing the cores.
2. Add to a large saucepan with water and bring to a simmer.
3. Once simmering, add lemon juice and honey.
4. Stir frequently until the Apple resembles a consistent puree’.
5. Set aside to cool.
Pastry
Don’t expect a dough like consistency in the pastry prior to cooking it. You may find that you are patching together the pastry inside your pie dish rather than laying it in flat after rolling.
2 cups self raising flour
2 tbs custard powder
90g butter
Grated lemon rind from a whole lemon.
1/3 cup sugar
1 egg yolk
1/3 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1. Sift flour and custard powder into a bowl. Rub in butter to resemble bread crumbs.
2. Add lemon rind and sugar, mix well.
3. Beat egg yolk and milk together and then add vanilla extract, add to dry ingredients, mix to form the dough. The dough should be crumbly and easy to tear.
4. Roll out 2/3 of pastry to make base of apple pie and apply to the inside of a greased pastry tin (we recommend a glass oven proof pie dish or a heavy iron pan). Build the base out of patchwork when the dough rightly tears apart.
5. Roll out remaining pastry and cut into strips to form a lattice on the top of the pie.
6. Pour the stewed apple pie into the base and apply lattice.
7. Bake at 200 degrees celcius for 10 minutes and then turn down to medium for a further 15, stop earlier if pastry is sufficiently cooked and golden.
Variations
Try adding stewed strawberry and raspberry as a top layer to the pie, replacing the lemon juice and lemon rind with lime juice and lime rind.
As with all apple pies, serve with fresh homemade custard!
