Apple Pie
Captain Chris' wonderful Apple Pie.
Makes 8 generous portions.
Ingredients for pastry:
350gr organic whole wheat flour
150gr organic cane sugar
100ml sunflower oil
100ml fresh water
Ingredients for filling:
5 organic apples
300ml fresh cream
1 happy chicken egg
50gr organic cane sugar
1 lemon
Method:
To make the pastry, place the flour and sugar in a suitable mixing bowl and mix until uniform. Rub in the oil, then add the water and continue kneading the mixture until the dough is fairly elastic and ready to roll out.
Sprinkle the work surface with flour and roll out the pastry dough to a uniform thickness of about 3mm, then cut out a shape just a little bigger than the circular pie mould you will use to bake the apple pie (about 35cm diameter). Remove the rest of the pastry from around the edge and leave ready to re-roll for the decoration on top of the pie. Paint the pie dish thoroughly with sunflower oil to stop the pie sticking, then using the rolling pin, roll up the circle of pastry, so that it is completely rolled around the rolling pin and can be lifted from the work surface. (Sprinkle flour onto the pastry as you roll it up, so that the pastry doesn’t stick together!) Now place the pie dish on the work surface and unroll the pastry from the rolling pin onto the top of it, being careful not to damage it more than necessary. Fit the pastry into the mould and ensure there are no holes in the bottom for the mixture to leak out of as this will stick the pie into the mould during cooking and may make it difficult to remove the final product once cooked.
Once the base is made, roll out the remainder of the pastry and cut out six or seven leaf shapes with a sharp knife. Using a glass or other circular shape, cut out three circles from the pastry and make them into simple flower shapes. Set aside both flowers and leaves on a separate plate ready to decorate your pie.
To make the pie filling, peel and slice the five apples into segments and arrange them in a circle side by side around the outer edge of the pastry filled mould, then fill in the centre with the remainder.
Cut the lemon in half and squeeze the juice over the top of the apples, removing any seeds if they fall onto the apples. Arrange the six or seven pastry leaves on top of the apples, pointing out from the centre, then add the three flower shapes in the middle like a floral decoration surrounded by leaves. Whisk the egg, cream and sugar together until well blended and carefully pour it over the centre of the pie until it has almost covered the apples. Sprinkle the top with some more brown sugar and bake in a medium oven until golden brown on top (about half an hour depending on the oven). Serve warm for a delicious unforgettable dessert!
