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5 from 1 vote

Classic Apple Pie

Classic Apple Pie made with the flakiest all-butter pie dough, and loaded with cinnamon doused apples - the most comforting and perfect pie filling around.
Prep Time35 minutes
Cook Time45 minutes
Chill Time2 hours 30 minutes
Total Time3 hours 50 minutes
Servings: 1 9-inch pie
Author: Vicki @ Passionate Baker

Ingredients

for the pie dough

  • 450 g strong white flour
  • 25 g caster sugar
  • 350 g salted butter, cubed and chilled in the fridge for at least 20-minutes
  • 140 mls ice water

for the filling

  • 480 g apples, peeled and cored - I used bramley
  • 125 g caster sugar
  • 3 tsp cornflour
  • 1 tsp cinnamon

to assemble

  • 1/4 tsp cornflour mixed with 3/4 tsp caster sugar, for soggy bottom protection
  • 1 egg , lightly whisked for washing
  • demerara sugar, for sprinkling

Instructions

for the pie dough base

  • In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix together the flour & the sugar.
  • With the mixer on slow, add in the chunks of butter. Beat together until the butter breaks down. The mix should resemble breadcrumbs mostly, but with some larger pea size pieces of butter. Pour the ice cold water into the bowl & mix together quickly until it just starts to form a dough, but there are some unincorporated bits in the bottom of the bowl.
  • Handling the dough as little as possible, tip the contents out onto a lightly floured surface & bring everything together on the bench, very lightly kneading it. Shape the dough into a large rectangle & use a rolling pin to roll it out to double it's size. Perform a single fold in the dough by folding the top third down into the middle, then the bottom third up over the first, as you would a letter.
  • Using a sharp knife, gently cut the dough in two. Lightly shape each piece into a disk shape, wrap both tightly in cling film, and rest in the fridge for at least 2-hours.
  • Lightly grease a 9-inch pie tin with butter. On a lightly floured surface, roll one of the pie discs out to a large circle place in prepared tin. Trim the edges, and crimp if desired. Place in the fridge.

for the filling

  • Fill a medium bowl halfway with water. Juice the lemon into the water and stir. Slice the apples into even slices, adding them to the lemon-water as you do. When all of the fruit has been sliced and dipped in the water, gently tip out the water and drain the fruit. Place the fruit back into the empty bowl.
  • To the bowl, add the caster sugar, cornflour, cinnamon, and lemon zest. Mix thoroughly and set aside.

for the pie dough lattice

  • Take the second pie disc out of the fridge and repeat the rolling out process. Use a sharp knife to slice the dough into straight strips of dough - they can be any size you want; I went for random widths. Set aside.

to assemble

  • Preheat the oven to 200°C.
  • Sprinkle the cornflour/caster sugar mixture over the chilled pie dough base and use your fingers to spread it around.
  • Using your hands, transfer the macerated fruit to the pie base, draining off as much of the liquid as possible.
  • Lay strips of lattice over the top of the fruit and alternate peeling them back and laying so that they weave together. Place the whole pie in the freezer for at least 20-minutes while the oven preheats.
  • When ready to bake, lightly brush the whole pie with egg wash, sprinkle generously with demerara sugar, and bake in the preheated oven for 45-minutes, or until deeply golden brown and crunchy.
  • Leave to cool before slicing and serving.