Monday, 20 October 2014

Food: Vintage Apple Pie Recipe

Apple Pies

It's more than possible that I blog about apple pies every autumn, but seriously they are one of my favorite things about the season especially when you pick them yourself like we did on our last trip to the orchard. But I also grew up with apple trees in the back garden so half the fun was being a tomboy and climbing them but also getting to help pick them every autumn, wrapping them up for over the winter and all the apple pies and crumbles we could eat.

Modern recipes for apple pies are far too fancy for my liking, they always to make such a song and dance out of a relatively easy recipe. So I always reach for a recipe that's in one of my favorite vintage cookbooks - The Boston School of Cooking Cookbook. It's a very well loved, a little tattered and worn but essential cookbook in my collection. It has both my go to recipe for plain pastry and for apple pies (which I love playing around and adjusting). 

Apple Pie Recipe

While this recipe is pretty simple, that doesn't mean it can't be jazzed up, I always through in a cup or two of raspberries into each pie and I'm sure brambles or raisins would taste just as good too. But this recipe is to much of my favorite to not share again (with some adjustments from the last time it was posted).

Old good fashioned apple pie

6 medium apples - eating or cooking
2 cups of raspberries
1/2 cup of brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon of all spice
1/4 teaspoon of salt
1/2 tablespoon of butter
2 tablespoons of lemon juice
Milk

Line bottom of your pie tin with pastry and cut off any excess pastry from around the edges. Peel, core and cute apples into small bite sized pieces and mix in the raspberries. Dump them both into your pastry lined pie tin. Separately mix the sugar, cinnamon, all spice salt and lemon juice together and sprinkle over your apple/raspberry mix. Cut up your tablespoon of butter and dot it around the top.

Wet the edges of your pie and roll out/take your pie top and lay over, covering the pie. Press the edges together. Cut a little vent in the top of the pie and glaze with a little bit of milk so the crust goes lovely and golden.

Bake at 450F on the lowest shelf for 10 minutes then reduce to 350F for 45 - 60 minutes on the middle shelf.

Going by how many apples we still have left, this recipe will be getting used for many more pies in the next month or so. It's that good and never lasts long around here.

But the big, all important question is, what do you serve your apple pie with? Custard, cream, ice cream?

33 comments:

  1. I love making apple pie. There is just something so relaxing about it.

    Sarah
    Midwest Darling

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  2. Ooh that looks very yummy indeed! It just so happens I have some apples that need cpoking so I might give this ago.
    I am a custard kind of a girl :) x

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    1. Custard is a great choice especially if it's lovely and thick - mmmm

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  3. Blogging about pie every year is not an issue - I love apple pie.

    Lizzie's Daily Blog

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  4. We had a rubbish harvest of apples this year - and now we have sadly given up the allotment it means we probably won't ever have so many apples lying around - one day I dream of having an apple tree in the garden though. But I do love apple pie, also rhubarb too! Always with custard xxx

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    1. We're planning of putting some apple trees into our garden when we've cut down the pine tree although it'll be a good 5 or so years before they produce fruit, but visiting all the orchards around here is a lot of fun so I don't mind too much.

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  5. Looks yummy! I've never made apple pie. I feel like it's such an autumn thing to do... Saving your recipe and going to give it a try!

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    1. Do share if you get around to making one! My freezer is full of them lol ...

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  6. I'm totally a traditionalist when it comes to pie as well. It's less about "how many wacky ingredients can I fit in here" and more about high quality ingredients and careful technique, like cold butter.

    Cat
    http://oddlylovely.com

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    1. Ah see the cold butters never really worked for me, especially when making pastry. Cold hands is needed for that, that and ice water.

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  7. I am one of those weird people who doesn't like apple pie that much, but on the rare occasion that I do have it, hot pie with vanilla ice cream all the way!

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    1. :O There's people who don't like apple pie?! I'm shocked lol See I like my pie cold (but my crumble warm) nom!

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  8. I love the idea of apple pie, and the smell of it but much as I want to I can't get on with the idea of cooked apples!

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    1. :( I gotta admit they do have a different texture when cooked, but yeah, give me all the cooked apples!

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  9. That looks delicious! We had Apple trees in our garden when I was a kid too - apple pies and crumbles galore! I'm definitely on the custard wagon though! Ah, the childhood memories! X

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    1. Mmm custard! I have packets of Birds custard in my cupboard, I treat British food like gold so I rarely end up using them (same with Angel's Delight).

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  10. I love apple pie and yours looks so good! I usually have my pie without anything, but from time to time I serve it with caramelized apple sauce.

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    1. Ooo i'm intrigued by the caramelized apple sauce, that sounds delicious!

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  11. I love any kind of apple treat! Growing up we had an apple tree in the yard and it was so much fun to climb it and pick any ripe apples, I definitely miss having an apple tree! I normally eat pie with a little bit of vanilla ice cream, but sometimes I prefer it by itself, especially if it's as delicious as this one looks.

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    1. Yeah the raspberries keep it really moist surprisingly so you don't necessarily need a side - although i have a weakness for cream! Oh the fun of climbing trees growing up, that and having a cat that used to love to sit up there and watch all the birds!

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  12. I JUST bought a crap load of apples this weekend. so I will have to try this! I have never used raspberries before, so I am excited about that!

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    1. Haha I was swimming in apples, I think most of them have been packed away or baked with now. It's a wonder just how many you can cram into one of those bags when you try!

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  13. I love apple pie and apple crumble but the husband doesn't so I only really have it once in a blue moon and if my sister has made it! Disappointing!
    Debi x

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    1. Joe is like that about general baking stuff, especially cakes/cookies/buns etc, so I just make them and he'll have 3 and i'll just ea/freezet the rest. Totally not good for me, but ya know, I needs my cake fix!

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  14. I made a caramel apple pie (i'm sure my nan called them apple bettys when i was a kid) and it was so delicious. Almost made me excited for the winter weather being in the UK!

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    1. Love caramel with anything apple based, always a winner!

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  15. Such perfect timing! I've somehow never made an apple pie before, and my bf has requested one for his birthday on Friday. Ideally I'd love to do a lattice but I think I should probably take things one step at a time. This looks totally doable and delish!

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    1. Some people can be so artist with the pastry, like cutting out stars and using them as the top and all the edge decorations, i'd love be creative enough to pull things like that off, even lattice work on one! Being able to make semi decent home made pastry uses up most of my skills lol!

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  16. It's been a long long time since I last made a sweet pie. But, we've got quite a good pastry recipe so maybe I should give this a whirl. I do like the simpleness about it.

    I think i'd try some blackberries. My nana used to make apple and blackberry all the time. Occasionally gooseberries too, I don't know how they would end up in the pies. And Rhubarb, lots of rhubarb.

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    1. Gooseberries take me back. My gran use to pick them when we went raspberry picking but they were far too sour for my liking, could never enjoy them.

      Give me ALL THE RHUBARB.

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  17. I wished I liked Apple pie as it always smells so nice but there's just something about it that I really don't like. I'm really picky when it comes to most fruit pies to be honest. Yours looks very scrummy x

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    1. Thank you! Aside from gooseberries, i'm pretty open to pie flavors, just through it in and i'll probably try it haha!

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