Classic Apple Pie on Pi Day

My Pie..as if receiving Divine Light….

I bake pies on order and it has been a good 2 years I have been doing so.But I have not posted any pie recipe on the blog as of yet which is quite strange.Maybe because I have not baked a pie for myself or so to say I bake them for guests and so cannot be bothered with cooking,clicking and eating!Just to tell you this pie was made on New Year’s Eve 2016 and lay in my gallery all this while I was cool enough to go about posting other recipes and totally forgot about it!

My ex colleague and her husband came for the New Year Eve dinner and asked me to bake a dessert they wanted to have.They had tasted pies in UK and wanted me to make the classic one – nothing modern.They wanted the same crude way in which traditional pies were made – no fancy decorations,no plating and no artwork – just a neat and round fabulous pie which spoke volumes of the British Legacy – the centuries of development into the classic pie,the crisp crust and delicious filling.They wanted Apple Pie as they were in love with it!I have made many fruit pies like berry pies,peach pies and cobblers and the very delicious and loved by all Lemon Meringue Pie (please do not berate me for lack of pics as these were for clients and I could not cut a slice from that and click a pic without taking a bite of it which will scar my clients for life)!

So this pie was made – no fancies and just the Classic and simple one!I used a glass pie plate to bake it – you may use a metal one as well!

Today is Pi Day – a Mathematical revolution celebration when the Circumference over Diameter symbol Pi (π) to represent a constant – a value of 3.14 to be precise!However the link is that Circumference and Diameter are values of a Circle and a Pie is also circular!So I thought posting this recipe today will do me as well as every foodie all the good in the world!This was a Greek Symbol born many years ago and my Pie has been lying in my picture gallery for a long time!Makes sense doesn’t it ,….;)!

NOTE : I have not bothered to make designer edges but even as the age old tradition boasted about sealing and crimping the edges,I opted for a simple,sealed look!You can crimp the edges and make an ornate Pie if you want!

Also if you want to have a different looking pie then roll out the remaining pastry into a circle and cut to stripes from it.Overlap them to form a trellis design which would be as appreciated as this!

Preparation Time : 2 hours

Makes : 6 – 8 servings

INGREDIENTS

For the Pie Crust :

350 gms plain flour (maida)

A pinch of salt

170 gms unsalted butter – chilled and cut into small pieces (if you use salted butter then omit the salt)

1 beaten egg/milk for brushing the top

Chilled water as required

For the filling :

750 gms Apples (peeled,cored and sliced) – Use Red Delicious,Granny Smith (the green ones) or Washington

125 gms Caster Sugar/powdered sugar

1 tsp Cinnamon Powder (dalchini)

1/2 tsp Clove Powder (laung)

1/2 tsp Ginger Powder (Sonth)

METHOD

Make the Pie Crust : 

Sift the flour and salt into a mixing bowl.Add butter and mix with the tip of your fingers till it resembles breadcrumbs.The butter will melt slightly under the heat nd pressure of your fingertips and combine well with the flour and salt mixture.Add chilled water 1 tbsp at a time and gather the mixture together to form a semi hard dough.You will need around 6 tbsp chilled water here.

Cover the dough with Cling Wrap and chill it in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 220°C.

Mix Apples,sugar and spices in another bowl.

Make the Pie :

Roll out 2/3 of the pastry dough into a big circle and line a pie plate with it.Spoon the prepared Apple filling into the centre of the pastry round and spread it uniformly over the base.

Roll out the remaining pastry into a circle again.Dampen the edges of the pastry in the pie plate and arrange the second round neatly over the first.Seal and crimp the edges together to make sure the filling does not escape.Make 3 – 4 slits on top of the pie to let the steam out.

Bake the Pie :

Brush the pie with beaten egg or milk and bake for 20 minutes at 220°C.Then reduce temperature to 180°C and bake for a further 30 minutes till the top turns a beautiful Golden brown.At this stage the Apples will be cooked inside with the spices and sugar and that would be heavenly to taste once the Pie is cut!

Remove and cool the Pie for 10 minutes.I removed the Pie from the Pie plate.It came out easily as it had baked perfectly!Sprinkle the top with sifted powdered sugar and serve!

After removing the Pie from the Oven….

Sprinkled with powdered sugar…

Save as it is or with a scoop of sweetened whipped cream or even vanilla Ice cream or any ice cream of your choice!

Happy Pi Day!

Served with good wishes….