Easy caramel apple pie recipe

The 13th of May marks the annual celebration of one of the best desserts of all time – National Apple Pie day! The first ever apple pie recipe was printed in England in 1381.

It may sound a little strange but apple pie means a lot to me for sentimental reasons. Growing up my great grandma would make us an apple pie every time we would go to visit and she soon got the name “Grandma Apple Pie”. I may have been too young to now remember what her legendary pie tasted like but every time I see or taste apple pie I think back to all the times spent with her and my family. Inspired by Grandma Apple Pie I have made my very own apple pie recipe and I hope you find it as delicious as hers was.

Ingredients:

This recipe is for a 20cm pie dish, this can be doubled for a 28cm or larger dish:

• 1 x 500g block of shortcrust pastry ( shop bought or make your own)
• 2 large bramley apples (or any cooking apple variety)
• 100g caster sugar
• 1 egg ( or milk)
• 40g butter
• 75ml double cream
• 2 tsp Ground cinnamon
• 2 tsp Ground nutmeg

Things you’ll need:

• Pie/flan dish
• Large pan
• Baking beans ( see notes if you don’t have these)
• Rolling pin
• Grease proof paper
• Pastry brush

Recipe:

1. Preheat your oven to 220°C
2. Roll out your pastry on a floured surface until to 0.5cm thick
3. Roll out wide enough to cut around your dish with an extra 2-3cm for the edges
4. Cut this out using a pizza cutter or knife and then place into your dish ensuring the pastry is pushed into the bottom edge and any flutes that the dish may have
5. Use a fork to prick the pastry all over, this allows steam to escape so it doesn’t puff up when cooking
6. With the rest of your pastry create a lid about 0.5cm thick
7. Add a layer of grease proof paper and then top with baking beans ensuring you pack them against the edges to avoid shrinkage
8. Bake for 15 minutes and then remove the beans and grease proof paper then return to the oven for a further 5 minutes until the pastry is light golden and cooked

The caramel apple filling:

1. Prepare the apples by peeling, coring, and slicing thinly, set these aside ready for use later
2. Pour the sugar into the pan on a medium heat, constantly pull the outside to the middle to ensure even heat distribution
3. Keep stirring until the sugar is all melted and the liquid is a dark amber colour
4. Remove from the heat and add the cream a little bit at a time
5. Once fully incorporated add in the room temperature butter
6. When its fully melted put in back on the heat until bubbling, wait a few seconds then remove from the heat
7. Stir in the cinnamon and nutmeg then the apple slices, stir vigorously ensuring the apples are completely coated in the mixture
8. Taste the filling and add more cinnamon and nutmeg if you so desire

Assembling the pie:

1. Pour the apple mixture into your blind baked pie base
2. Top with the pastry lid that you prepared in the first part
3. Use your egg/milk wash to seal the edges of the lid and brush the lid with a thin layer to ensure a golden finish
4. Add 3 steam holes to the lid lid by cutting small lines (see picture)
5. Bake for 15 minutes or until the pastry is golden brown and cooked
6. Enjoy straight from the oven or cold!

Notes/tips:

• Leave your pastry out of the fridge for around 45 minutes before use so it is less stiff
• If you do not have baking beans you can use rice instead. You need enough to pack against the sides to avoid shrinkage
• When making the caramel be sure to add the cream slowly otherwise the drastic change in temperature will cause the sugar mixture to seize and become solid. If this happens don’t lose hope! Return to the heat and if you are lucky, with some rapid stirring and patience the solid might melt again
• Don’t be worried if you bake it for a little too long. As you can see by min above, although dark i colour it still looks cool and tasted delicious too
• If you have any left over pastry it can be frozen or you could use a little of the filling to make mini pasties or pies

I hope you enjoy making my apple pie recipe and that you have a great time whilst doing it too! Let us know when you make it by tagging us on social media @uolstudentlife. Check out this video by Student Life creator Emily for some easy student friendly recipes and more student life recipes can be found here!

Thank you to Emily Robinson (2nd Year Media Production) for taking the photos used in this post.