Golden Delicious Apple Pie
What's great about it
Apples are in season and it's raining outside! A perfect time for home made apple pie scented with a hint of cinnamon and vanilla then encased in a purely delicious shortcrust made from organic spelt and rolled oats. The secret to my recipe is to firstly use sweet delicious apples - my favourites are pink lady and golden delicious. I don't peel the apples so that the filling develops a lovely pink hue that looks magnificent in your serving bowl. The spelt shortcrust is one of my favourites and I love the richness of the pastry that gives a decadent mouthfeel when eating your pie. I hope you enjoy this wonderful pie as much as I do!
Ingredients
Serves 12
Apple Filling
10 sweet red apples or golden delicious apples - skin on.
1/2 cup fresh apple juice
2 teaspoons vanilla extract or paste
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 - 2 tablespoons honey or organic maple syrup or a small handful of appropriate dried fruit - choose from (fresh pitted chopped dates, dried pears - muscatels / raisins ). Adjust according to your palate.
Spelt + Oatmeal Shortcrust
300 g wholemeal spelt flour
200 g unsalted cold butter - cut into small dice
1 little splash of cold water to mix
1/2 - 1 cup rolled oats for rolling
Method
Prepare the apple filling:
- Quarter the apples and remove the core.
- Cut each quarter in half and place into a large pot.
- Add the apple juice, vanilla and cinnamon.
- Place onto the stove over a medium heat.
- Cook, stirring every now and again until the apples start to soften and collapse. This should take about 15 - 20 minutes.
- Remove from the heat and drain any liquid from the apples if needed.
- Fold through the maple syrup or dried fruit then allow the apple filling to cool.
Make the spelt and oatmeal shortcrust:
- Combine the spelt flour and butter into a mixing bowl or a food processor.
- Pulse lightly until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. You can also do this with your hand by gently rubbing the flour and butter with your fingertips.
- Add a little cold water to combine into a dough.
- Coat the dough in rolled oats and rest in the fridge for 30 minutes.
- Roll 2/3rds of the chilled pastry between 2 sheets of greaseproof paper to fit a 20 cm pie dish.
- Line the pie dish evenly and fill in any gaps in the pastry as needed.
- Spoon in the apple filling.
- Roll out the rest of the pastry and gently place over the apple filling.
- Seal any edges and cut a cross at the top of the pastry with a sharp knife.
- Sprinkle some oats over the pastry for decoration.
- Bake in a preheated 180 C oven for 45 minutes or until golden.
Notes and Inspiration
Serve warm or at room temperature with custard or your choice of ice cream, yoghurt or coconut cream.