makes
12
prep
15 minutes
cook
45 minutes
difficulty
Easy
makes
12
serves
preparation
15
minutes
cooking
45
minutes
difficulty
Easy
level
I use two Carême vanilla bean sweet shortcrust pastry sheets for this recipe, but you can, of course, use any other ready-made shortcrust or sweet shortcrust pastry – or you can make your own from scratch using your favourite recipe.
Ingredients
- 400 g Granny Smith apples (about 3), peeled, cored and cut into 2 cm pieces
- 100 g caster sugar
- ¼ tsp ground cinnamon
- ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
- 1 tbsp vanilla bean paste
- 870 g store-bought sweet shortcrust pastry, thawed
- 1 large egg, lightly beaten
- Demerara sugar, for sprinkling
- Vanilla ice cream, to serve
Instructions
1. Place the apple, caster sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla and 150 ml of water in a saucepan and bring to the boil over medium heat. Reduce the heat to low and simmer, stirring occasionally, for a further 15–20 minutes until the apple is soft. Leave to cool.
2. Once the pastry is thawed, cut out 24 x 9 cm rounds.
3. Preheat the oven to 200°C. Line two baking trays with baking paper.
4. Place half the pastry rounds on the prepared trays. Top with a dollop of apple mixture, leaving a 1 cm border. Brush the edges of the pastry circles with the beaten egg, top with the remaining pastry rounds and seal the edges with a fork. Cut a small, shallow cross in the top of each pie with a sharp knife, then brush with beaten egg and sprinkle with demerara sugar. Bake until golden (approximately 25 minutes), turning the baking trays halfway to ensure even cooking.
5. Allow to cool for 10 minutes on a wire rack, then serve warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Cover leftovers and store in the fridge for up to 2 days.
Recipe and image from by Charlotte Ree, Published by Plum, RRP $29.99. Photography by Luisa Brimble, Styling by Lee Blaylock.
Cook's Notes
Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.
I use two Carême vanilla bean sweet shortcrust pastry sheets for this recipe, but you can, of course, use any other ready-made shortcrust or sweet shortcrust pastry – or you can make your own from scratch using your favourite recipe.
