a little apple pie

For those days when you just need a little warmth. 

A little comfort. 

A little love.

A   L I T T L E   A P P L E   P I E

"We must have a pie.

Stress cannot exist in the presence of a pie."

                                                        -- David Mamet

T H E   P A S T R Y

1 3/4 plain flour

1/2 cup self raising flour

1 pinch of salt

185g unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

1/3 cup caster sugar

2 eggs

1 tablespoon chilled water

1 tablespoon milk

Sift flours and pinch of salt into a large mixing bowl.

Add butter and rub lightly into flour with your fingertips, 

until mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.

Stir through sugar.

Add lightly beaten egg, and chilled water.

Knead together as dough forms.

Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Once chilled - Roll pastry out on a floured workbench ready to assemble.

T H E   F I L L I N G

1kg peeled & cored granny smith apples; cut into cubes

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1/4 cup caster sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/8 teaspoon salt

In a large bowl, toss the apples with the lemon juice, caster sugar, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt.

T H E   A S S E M B L Y

1 tablespoon unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

1 egg + 1 tablespoon milk whisked together

raw sugar for sprinkling

Roll out pastry to line individual pie trays.

Fill with apple mixture.

Add small piece of butter.

Cover with rolled out pastry to create a lid.

Brush with egg/milk wash

Sprinkle with raw sugar.

B A K E

On 200C for 30mins;

Then reduce heat to 160C and bake until golden.

Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

xx

pies with nuts #notdirtystreetpie

Tis the season for delicious foods and Christmas parties.

It's also that time of the year when you've had enough of work; you're feeling a little fed up with the losers who can't navigate a shopping centre carpark; and you are struggling to find anything suitable for that one person you always struggle to buy for. 

And now you're scrambling to think of something to take to that neighbourhood barbecue or family gathering this weekend.

Don't worry. I've got your back.

M I N I   P E C A N   P I E S

Mini Pecan Pies

These are the perfect, "easy to make, bite-sized so everyone gets a taste, but still delicious enough to impress" dessert. 

Can be served as they are; or with a dollop of cream or scoop of icecream.

To make pastry

200g (1 + 1/3 cups) plain flour

Pinch of salt

125g chilled unsalted butter, chopped

1 egg, lightly beaten

Combine flour and salt in a large bowl. Add butter and, using your fingers, rub into flour mixture until it resembles fine breadcrumbs. Make a well in centre of flour mixture. Combine egg and 1 tablespoon iced water in a small bowl, then pour into well. Using a round-bladed knife, stir until mixture forms a dough.

Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 200C. Place dough on a lightly floured work surface and roll out

Use a cookie cutter (or a wine glass if you’re like me and didn’t have a cookie cutter handy!) to cut dough to fit muffin tin moulds.

Bake for 10 minutes or until light golden. Reduce oven to 175C.

To make the filling

50g unsalted butter, chopped

150g (2/3 cup firmly packed) brown sugar

160ml (2/3 cup) golden syrup

3 eggs, lightly beaten

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

240g (2 cups) pecan halves

Place butter, sugar and golden syrup in a small saucepan over low–medium heat and cook, stirring, for 5 minutes or until butter melts and mixture is smooth. Remove from heat and set aside to cool slightly. Add eggs and vanilla, and whisk to combine. Fill mini pastry cases with pecans and pour over golden syrup mixture. Place on an oven tray and bake for 20 minutes or until filling is browned and firm to the touch. Cool in pan to room temperature.

Here's a little behind-the-scenes snapshot, including my ever diligent Supervisor - Miss Emmy.

Miss Emmy supervising my photoshoot

xx

Mini Apple Pies

Yep.. I've moved away from baking cupcakes a little bit.

But that doesn't mean I don't appreciate small individual sized desserts.

These mini apple pies were just the right size to be eaten by themselves (one after the other...);
Or with a scoop of ice-cream... 

Warm Apple Pies
Ready for a picnic...

These were a spontaneous baking decision spurred by an abundance of apples in our fridge that had been hiding in the back a little tooooo long to be enjoyed fresh.

What better way to reduce wastage than to whip up a few little pies?!

Actually.... this recipe made HEAPS of pies.

M I N I   A P P L E   P I E S

I was on auto-pilot cutting the pastry and filling the muffin tins.. 

I lost count of how many trays I put into the oven.

And when they came out (all warm and crispy and smelling simply ah-mazing), I had to taste a few for quality control purposes so I don't have an exact number..

But at a guess, I think this recipe probably made over 40 pies.

40 super cute pies with little stars on top.

Fresh out of the oven

Here's how it's done - 

 Start by cutting up the apples - At a guess (yep... There was no tight recipe following during this baking session) I probably chopped up about 8-9 apples.

Mix the apples with:

12 tablespoons of flour

1 + 1/2 cup of sugar

4 teaspoons of cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon of nutmeg

Plus butter chopped into little centimetre cubes

and Pastry.

Sidenote...

This is going to sound snobby - But I don't usually bake with frozen pastry. 

(Like, with this lemon meringue pie for example...)

But (sadly and strangely) I 'inherited' an abundance of frozen pastry from my Nan's freezer..

So I specifically searched for a recipe which required frozen pastry on this occasion, 

Anyway....

 Stir the dry ingredients through the apples. Coating them evenly.

Then cut large circles out of the shortcrust pastry; and smaller circles out of the puff pastry (I would suggest that you can use the same pastry for both pie base and top - but I had both to play with..)

Line each cup of your muffin tin with the shortcrust.

Fill the crusts with your apple mixture; pop a cube of butter on top; then top with puff pastry circle.

I brushed each pie with an egg wash to get that 'golden glow', but melted butter would work too.

Then bake at 200 degrees Celsius for about 10-15 minutes or until golden.

 Enjoy - Preferably with friends like Kimberlee, Emma and Pippa (at the infamous unveiling of Mr Chuck Bass).!

xx

The Key to Pie

I went to the Adelaide Showground Farmers Markets last weekend.

I must admit - wandering from stall to stall admiring people's dedication to fresh produce is inspirational.

So I bought some fresh limes and turned them into a pie.

K E Y   L I M E   P I E

It was just the right combination of sweet and tangy. 
And the biscuit base was crumbly with a 'melt in your mouth' consistency.

(OK.. So I'll never be a judge on MasterChef with a critique like that.. But it's the best I can do!)

Try it for yourself and let me know what you think!

• 200g Granita biscuits
• 1/4 cup ground almonds
• 1 tbs caster sugar
• 100g butter, melted
• 4 eggs, lightly beaten
• 395g can condensed milk
• 2/3 cup (160ml) cream
• Finely grated rind and juice of 4 limes

Preheat oven to 170°C. 
Line base of a 20cm springform tin with baking paper.

Process biscuits until fine crumbs. 
Add almonds, sugar and butter, process until combined. 
Press mixture firmly into the base and up sides of tin. 
Refrigerate.

Whisk eggs, milk, cream, lime rind and juice until smooth. 
Pour into biscuit crust.
Place on tray and bake for 40-45 mins or until set. 
Cool. 
Serve with extra lime slices.


xx

Pie for Nan

My Nan has been in and out of hospital for months.

It is incredibly sad to watch her suffer from one ailment to the next. 

It is equally as difficult to watch her attempt to eat the disgraceful excuse for food that some hospital kitchens serve to their patients.

When I visit I always take a treat - If I'm short on time it might be a vanilla slice from my bakery of choice, or perhaps a fruit tart from my favourite stall in the Central Markets. If I've got time to prepare something at home it's often melting moments or a cake made with love.

Yesterday I made a Lemon Meringue Pie to take with me on my visit.

Rustic Lemon Meringue Pie

Before you get started - 

Grease pie tin;

Preheat oven to 240 degrees

For the Pastry

1 1/2 cups plain flour

1 tbsp icing sugar

140g butter

1 egg yolk

2 tbsp water

Combine flour and icing sugar; Using fingers - rub in butter until crumbly;

Add yolk and water;

Knead until smooth dough forms

Cover and place in fridge for 30 minutes

then...

Roll pastry into tin;

Blind bake in oven for 15 minutes;

Then bake for a further 10 minutes;

And cool.

For the Lemon Curd

1/2 cup cornflour

1 cup caster sugar

1/2 cup lemon juice

1 1/4 cup water

60g butter

3 egg yolks

To make the filling -

Combine cornflour and sugar in saucepan;

Add juice and water and stir until smooth;

Cook stirring over high heat until mixture boils and thickens;

Remove from heat and stir in butter and yolks;

Return to heat and cook for further 10 minutes.

For the Meringue

1/2 cup caster sugar

4 egg whites

To make meringue - 

Beat egg whites until soft peaks form;

Gradually add sugar;

Beat until sugar dissolves.

Then assemble - 

Spread lemon curd over base;

Cover with meringue;

Bake for 2-5 minutes until top begins to brown.

Cool.

Serve.

Nan loved it. And so did the nurses on duty who also indulged in a slice.

xx