Bramley apples are available all year round in the UK but they come into their own between December and March.
Having an abundance of these sweet fruits is the perfect excuse to whip them up into a pie at the best of times, but even more so during British Pie Week.
The celebration of all things pies runs from March 4 to March 10 this year, and the Tesco recipe team have the perfect dish for those fancying a slice of traditional Bramley apple pie to mark the occasion.
When made using shop-bought pasty, the ingredients list is limited to just five ingredients for the juicy filling.
And the best part is, they’re likely already in the kitchen cupboard or fruit bowl.
Ingredients
375g ready-rolled shortcrust pastry or:
- 375g plain flour
- A pinch of salt
- 100g cold butter, chopped
- 30g caster sugar for dusting
Filling
- Four medium Bramley apples peeled cored and chopped
- Zest and juice of one lemon
- 100g caster sugar
- One teaspoon of ground mixed spice
- 50g raisins or sultanas
Method
Start with a preheated oven set to 180C, gas mark 4, then if making the pastry from scratch, add the salt to the flour in a mixing bowl.
Rub in the cold butter to the flour using your fingertips or pulse together in a food processor until it resembles fine bread crumbs. Add two tablespoons of cold water and using a table knife or food processor, mix until it forms a ball, adding more water if necessary.
Tip out onto a clean, floured surface and knead gently until smooth, taking care not to overwork the dough. Wrap in cling film and place in the fridge for 10 minutes.
Remove the pastry from the fridge and roll it out on a floured surface to a thickness of half a centimetre. Choose a pie dish with a flat rim about 1cm wide, then place it top down onto the rolled-out pastry, and cut around the outside about 1cm larger than the pie dish.
This will form the crust. If using readymade pastry, do the same. Cut ribbons of pastry from the trimmings, ensuring the ribbons are the same width as the pie dish rim, and long enough to fit all around the edge.
To make the filling, tip the peeled, cored and chopped apples straight into the pie dish along with the lemon juice and zest.
Dust over the sugar and spice, and add the raisins or sultanas, turning the filling to coat the apple pieces thoroughly with the other ingredients.
Before assembling everything, wet the rim of the pie dish, and carefully arrange the ribbons of pastry round, pressing gently into place.
Wet the top of the pastry ribbons, and carefully lay the pastry top over the filling and ribbons, trimming off any overhanging pastry at the edges with a knife. Finally, use a fork to press the pastry gently onto the wetted edge to form a seal.
Make a couple of small steam holes in the pastry top with a knife then brush with a little water, and sprinkle over the caster sugar.
Bake for 35 minutes in the preheated oven until golden.
