Classic American double-crust apple pie with cinnamon

Ingredients

Pastry

• 350 g plain flour
• 225 g cold unsalted butter, cubed
• 1 tbsp caster sugar
• ½ tsp salt
• 4-6 tbsp ice-cold water

Filling

• 800 g Bramley apples, peeled, cored, sliced
• 400 g eating apples (Braeburn or Granny Smith), peeled, cored, sliced
• 150 g caster sugar (adjust to taste)
• 2 tbsp plain flour
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• ¼ tsp nutmeg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• Juice of ½ lemon

Top

• 1 egg, beaten (wash)
• 1 tbsp demerara sugar

Method

1. Pastry. Rub butter into flour, sugar, salt until it looks like coarse breadcrumbs. Add water a tbsp at a time until it just comes together.
2. Rest. Wrap in cling film. Refrigerate 30 minutes.
3. Filling. Toss apples with sugar, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla, lemon juice. Rest 10 minutes.
4. Roll. Divide pastry 60/40. Roll the larger piece to line a 23 cm pie dish.
5. Fill. Pile apples in, mounding slightly in the middle. Dot with a little butter if you like.
6. Top. Roll the smaller piece for the lid. Drape over. Trim, crimp edges. Cut 4 steam holes.
7. Wash. Brush with beaten egg. Sprinkle with demerara sugar.
8. Bake. 200°C for 20 minutes, then 180°C for 35-40 minutes until golden and bubbling. Cool at least 1 hour before slicing.

Tips

• Mix Bramley and eating apples. All Bramley = sloppy. All eaters = bland.
• Cold butter, cold water, cold hands. Warm dough = tough pastry.
• Egg wash + demerara sugar on top. The crunch is the whole point.