So… Tudor Week. Time to make pastry again! This weeks episode of The Great British Bake Off took on a bit of a savoury theme. However, I have a bit of a sweet tooth (as you may have noticed!) so decided to throw in my own twist and make a sweet apple pie. I used the recipe from BBC Good Food which can be found here. But I’ve also re-written it below in a slightly more detailed way which I think is easier to follow; it has step-by-step images to help you on your way.

Autumn really has begun now. The air feels much fresher and it’s actually dark when I wake up for work! I’m wearing scarves and chunky knits and I feel like it’s almost time to retrieve my boots from the back of the wardrobe. The leaves are turning fiery shades of orange and falling off the trees. And I’ve started buying stupid amounts of candles to help as the evenings draw in. As cosy as all of that sounds, I’m 100% a sun worshipper so I need a bit of help getting through the colder months. There’s nothing better to help with this than an Apple Pie.

Ingredients
For the pastry
225g butter, unsalted
50g golden caster sugar (plus a little extra for decorating)
2 eggs
250g plain flour, sifted

For the filling
1 kg bramley apples
140g golden caster sugar
½ tsp cinnamon
3 tbsp plain flour

Tools
22cm fluted tin with a loose bottom

Method
Begin by making your pastry. To do this, beat the butter and sugar together until just combined. Then beat in one whole egg, and the yolk of a second egg. Beat together for about a minute until it resembles scrambled egg.

Now add in the flour, a third at a time until it begins to stick.

Finish by gathering together with your hands to form a ball. Wrap in cling film and leave to chill in the fridge for 45 minutes.

Now you can begin on your filling. Start by prepping your apples. Peel, quarter, core and slice your apples to a 5mm thickness.

Don’t worry if your apples start turning a little brown. This is normal. Place them on some kitchen towel, and also cover then with paper towels as this soaks up the liquid.

In a large bowl, mix together the sugar, cinnamon and flour.

Heat your oven to 190°C/170°C fan. Cut off a third of your pastry and leave wrapped up. Take the bigger section and roll it out to the thickness of a £1 coin. Use this to line your pastry tin, leaving a slight over hang.

Roll out the remaining pastry to form a circle big to cover your pie.

Tip the apples in to your cinnamon mix. Give it a quick mix and then add to your pastry case.

Brush the pastry rim with a little water. Then, using the pastry circle you have already rolled out, cover the pie, pressing the edges together to seal.

Make some slashed in the center of the pie so that steam can escape. With your left over pastry, you can add a little decoration. I had some leaf cutters so added cut some add and added to make the pie look pretty.

Brush the top of the pie with your left over egg white. Then sprinkle with a little sugar.

Bake for 40-45 minutes until golden brown. Leave to sit in the tin for 50-10 minutes.

Remove from the tin and serve warm with custard!

Enjoy! X