Apple Pie

I made the most perfect, flaky, delicious pie crust! How about a little cheer for me? Yayy! I'm really happy. While I have made good pie crusts before, they were never perfect, and certainly never this good! It was one of those pies where the crust is as good, or even better than filling. And mind you, that was some tasty filling it had!! I mean, just look at that slice!!


I didn't really follow a recipe with this one. While I follow recipes pretty religiously for cakes, cupcakes and the sort, pies are my creative outlet. I just do what feels right, and only measure so as to be able to provide a recipe to you! But you can trust it, I measure pretty precisely.




Apple Pie
Recipe by Avanika


For the pastry - 


375 g flour
225 g [2 sticks/1 cup] butter
1 tsp salt
About a 1/2 of a cup of ice water - use as needed


For the apple filling - 

6 apples [3 pounds]
1/4 cup sugar - my apples weren't very sweet, adjust accordingly, but 1/4 cup will give you pretty good results either way.
1 tbsp lemon juice
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg


1 egg, optional, for the egg wash

Tools preferable - 
A pie plate 
Pastry blender 
Apple Magician - that's what I call it :P



Instructions - 


For the pastry - 

1. Chop up your butter into cubes, and flash freeze the flour as well as the cubes. You want everything to be as cold as it can.
2. Use a food processor /2 knives / a pastry blender / your hands, whatever way you like, and cut the butter into the flour + salt until it resembles coarse breadcrumbs.
3. As soon as that is done, add in about a 1/4 cup of ice water, and gently mix it together with a fork, adding a tbsp more of water at a time until it just starts coming together.
4. Divide and shape into two flattened discs, and refrigerate for atleast half an hour. Take one disc out, and roll it into a rough circle between two sheets of cling wrap, measuring against your pie plate, leaving about 2 inches more, for the sides and the overhang. Lay onto the pie plate and put it back into the fridge while you prepare the filling.

For the filling - 

1. Peel, core and slice your apples - which is the most tedious part of making this pie, not, ofcourse, if you have those wonderful apple magicians! [hint to mom, I really want one!!].
2. Toss them together with all remaining ingredients, and pile onto the prepared pastry. You can pile it quite high, because they will reduce once cooked.

Back to the pastry - 

1. Take the other disc of pastry out of the refrigerator, and roll it out to an approximate similar size. Lay over the apples. With the inch of overhang from the top and bottom, create whatever edge you want, but make sure to press them together well to keep all the lovely apple juices contained. Cut off any excess once you're done. Make a few cuts in the top crust to allow steam to escape. Brush on the egg lightly.
2. Bake in an oven preheated to 220 C [425 F] for about 30 - 35 minutes, until crust is golden brown.
3. Marvel at the lovely flaky deliciousness!