"Autumn in London" Apple Pie

I’m in London for almost four months now. It is the longest I’ve been abroad so far, and with almost all the good friends I made over the summer back in their countries, I was feeling a tiny winy bit lonely. I was working in a place I didn’t like at all, I got sick... a bit under the weather would have been a huge understatement for my feelings at the moment.  

A friend asked me to make him an apple pie, and you know that for me, any excuse is a good excuse to bake, and with my two co-queens of the world coming to London the next day, I thought it would be great to have something warm and homey to offer them after their tiresome day other than soup from a packet. (Aye, I do have soup in packets, shame on me, I just don’t have space in the fridge to keep my own broths)

Well, what can I say? I was alone in the house for the first time in days, enjoying a nice cup of tea and rolled up my sleeves and got my hands dirty, took out the spices frm the cupboard, put some lovely folk music and I let my muses unfold.

Celtic Autumn song

Looked out from the window and saw the leaves of the trees nearby turning from deep green into different shades of orange, and yellow, and felt the autumny feeling inside of me that made me fancy a mug of hot mulled cider. Or wine. Or whisky. I do wonder if I actually have some celt blood in me, as I do keep feeling seasonal and craving spiced alcoholic concoctions... It could be, we spanish were pagans before romans came over the Iberic Peninsula... Just wishful thinking.

I had the apples, and I had the spices, so I went down to business.

Ingredients:

Mise en place

- About 10 medium sized apples (Fuji, Granny Smith, or any apple that holds its shape after cooking)
- 2 sheets of shortcrust pastry (you can make your own, and I’ll post my recipe at some point, but let’s face it, even if its not as wholesome and tasty, shopbought is easier, quicker and a lot less messier)
- Brown sugar to taste (it would depend on your apples, the more tart they are, the more sugar you might have to add)
- 1 lemon
- 1 teaspoon of cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon of vanilla essence or half a vanilla pod
- 1 pinch of nutmeg fresh grounded
- The zest of one orange
- 1 tablespoon of plain flour- 1 egg

Procedure:

- Preheat your oven at 200ºC and place your rack in the middle but more towards the bottom.
- Peel and core the apples, quarter them and smear the quarters with lemon juice, to stop the apples from browning.
- Slice each quarter into bite size chunks, as evenly as posible, but don’t be too OCD about it, it doesn’t have to be perfect.
- Sprinkle the sugar, the spices, the vanilla, the orange zest and the flour over the apples and toss them until they’re evenly covered by the mixture. Leave it aside
- Line a 20 or 23 cm of diameter pie dish with one of the pastry sheets.
- Toss over the apple chunks and shake a bit the pie dish, to help the chunks to distribute naturally.
- Beat a bit the egg, just to break the yolk and mix it a bit with the white and combine with a splash of milk to make the egg wash.
- Brush a bit of the egg wash over the border of the pie and cover with the other sheet of pastry.
- Seal both sheets of pastry pressing it down over the edge and cut the extra with a sharp knife.- Crimp the edges for a nicer finish.

Not my hands nor my pie, but crimping process

- Brush the top of the pie with egg wash and make some cuts to help the steam escape.
- You can carve some decorations with the leftover pastry, like an apple, or some leaves...
- Bake for about 30 minutes or til the pastry is golden brown and when you open the oven your kitchen is filled with baked apples smell and you’re filled with housekeeping joy.
- Let it cool for at least 30 minutes or so before you dive in, because even though is delightful warm, it would be piping hot inside and burning your mouth is not worth it.
- Serve with ice cream or créme fraîche.

Finished pie! It has a kind of apple on the centre...

I hope you like it, try it and tell me about it!