Apple pie is THE dessert around fall and Thanksgiving time (Well, actually any time is a great time for apple pie). There are thousands of apple pie recipes out there, but I've decided to try this recipe from Gordon Ramsey to see whether it is as "fool-proof" as people commented.
This recipe is actually very easy. The relatively challenging part is not to over-work the sweet tart dough, which I think is not hard to do. Was it delicious? Yes! Will I make it again? Absolutely!
Ingredients：
* for one 8-inch pie. I made 6 mini pies with muffin pan instead
Sweet tart pastry
1/2 cup unsalted butter (at room temperature)
7 tbsps sugar
1 egg
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
Apple filling
1/2 cup sugar (plus extra for sprinkling)
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
A pinch of ground nutmeg
4 large, tart cooking apples (peeled, cored and cut into thick chunks)
4 tbsp unsalted butter
to assemble
1 pound or 1 recipe, sweet tart pastry
egg wash (1 egg yolk beaten with 2 tsp water)
a pinch of sugar
Steps：
Sweet tart pastry
1. Place butter and sugar in a food processor and blitz until just combined.
2. Add egg and blitz for 30 seconds. Tip in the flour and process for a few seconds until the dough just comes together. Do not over-process it. Add a tablespoon of cold water if the dough seems too dry.
3. Knead lightly on a floured surface and shape into a flat disk.
4. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before using.
Apple filling
1. Mix sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg.
2. Place apple chunks in a bowl and sprinkle with the spiced sugar to coat.
3. Pan-fry the apples in two batches: Melt half the butter in a wide, nonstick frying pan. Fry half of the apple chunks over high heat for about 5 minutes, or until golden and caramelised around the edges. Transfer to a large bowl.
4. Repeat with the remaining apples and butter. Let cool completely.
to assemble
1. Heat the oven to 180°C.
2. Roll out about half of the pastry on a lightly floured surface to about ⅛-inch thickness.
3. Overturn an 8-inch pie pan on top of the pastry and cut out a rough circle slightly bigger than the pan.
4. Line the pan with the pastry, lightly pressing down to remove any air pockets. Then trim off the excess pastry.
5. Roll out the remaining pastry into another circle for the top crust. Again, slightly larger than the pan.
6. Spoon the cooled apples evenly into the pie shell. Brush the rim of the bottom crust with a little water, then drape the top crust over the pie.
7. Press down lightly to seal and trim off the excess pastry. Crimp the edges and brush the top with the egg wash to glaze.
8. Use the tip of a knife to cut a small cross in the centre so that steam can escape during baking. Sprinkle with a little sugar on top.
9. Bake for 35-40 mins until the crust is golden brown. Let stand for 15-20 minutes before serving.
Original recipe from Gordon Ramsay's Cooking for Friends.
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