This week I am sharing with you my mother’s recipe for apple pie. For me this is The Best Apple Pie Recipe because it uses my mother’s rich shortcrust pastry made with lard. I also always bake this as she did on an old-fashioned enamel pie plate. I use this pastry recipe for all of my pies – sweet and savoury.
The metal plate combined with a hot baking tray will ensure the bottom layer of pastry will be cooked. I use a 10 inch / 25 cm pie plate which makes a family sized pie.
The Best Apple Pie Recipe
6
servings45
minutesIngredients
Mother’s rich shortcrust pastry made with 8oz / 225gms plain flour (See my recipe).
3lb of apples. Use a mixture of cooking and eating apples. I like to use British apples such as Bramley, Cox, or Russet apples. You will need 2lb prepared apples.
4oz / 115gm sugar.
A little butter, milk, and caster sugar.
Directions
- Peel, core and slice the apples. Weigh the prepared apples you need 2lb / 900gm
- Put into a saucepan with the sugar and 2 tablespoons of water and cook over a low heat until tender, but not mushy.
- Leave to cool completely. I usually cook my apples the night before I make the pie.
- Prepare your pastry using the rich shortcrust pastry recipe from last week.
- Heat your oven to 210C / 410C / 190C Fan / Gas Mark 7 and place a metal baking tray on the middle shelf to heat.
- Grease your pie plate generously with butter.
- Roll out half your pastry thinly and use to line your pie plate. Trim the edges neatly.
- Put the cold apple filling in the centre of the pastry and brush the outer rim of pastry with milk.
- Roll out the remaining pastry to cover the filling. Trim the edges and crimp together to seal.
- Make a couple of slits in the centre of the pie to allow steam to escape.
- Brush the surface of the pie with milk.
- Place on the hot baking tray in the centre of the pre-heated oven.
- Cook for approximately 45 minutes until golden brown.
- Remove from the oven and dust with caster sugar.
- Serve hot or cold with custard, cream or ice cream.
Apple pie and a savoury pie!
Next time look out for another way to use my quick and easy rich shortcrust pastry in a savoury dish!
Happy Baking!
Tanya
I forgot to comment on this. I have spent the last 3 years trying to bake a recipe like my aunt. I am in Northern Ireland and we always called it Aunt Marie’s Apple Cake, even though it was a tart. Her pastry was thin and light crisp. Every recipe I tried failed miserably. They weren’t bad just not what I was looking for. I found your recipe last year and it was just what I was looking for. It is identical to my aunt’s apple cake. Thank you so much for posting This apple cake is made often and always enjoyed by everyone.
Hello Jayne,
I am so pleased to hear that my recipe was just what you were looking for. It was my mother’s recipe who was born and brought up in County Armagh, Northern Ireland and as a child I spent many happy holidays visiting my grandparents there. I really think my love of baking started there and many of my recipes are inspired by Northern Irish baking.
Thank you so much and hope to hear from you again!
Happy baking!
Tanya