No dessert seems quite as pure and simple as an old-fashioned apple pie with a crispy golden crust. Excellent on its own, but perhaps even better with a scoop of dairy-free vanilla ice cream.
You will need
Serves 6
- 2 kg Granny Smith apples, or other in-season cooking apples
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
Golden-crust Pastry
- 2/3 cup coconut oil, softened but not melted
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup plain flour, plus extra for dusting
- 1 cup self-raising flour
- 1 1/4 tablespoons cornflour
- 1/2 cup oat milk
- 3/4–1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, for sprinkling
- 1 tablespoon raw sugar, for sprinkling
Recipe: Taste for Life
Directions
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Step 1
Preheat the oven to 200°C conventional, or 180°C fan-forced. Grease a 25 cm pie dish.
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Step 2
Peel the apples and cut into odd-shaped slices; the aim is for some of the apples to break down into a sauce, and other pieces to retain more body for texture.
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Step 3
Place the apple pieces in a large saucepan with a scant 1/4 – 1/3 cup water. Cover and cook over medium–high heat for about 20 minutes, stirring frequently to stop the apples sticking to the pan and to ensure they cook evenly. When the apples are tender, add the sugar and stir until dissolved. Set aside while preparing the pastry.
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Step 4
In a bowl, beat the softened coconut oil and brown sugar using a hand beater or electric mixer until creamy. Add the vanilla and mix well.
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Step 5
Sift together the plain flour, self-raising flour and cornflour. Alternating with the oat milk, add the sifted flour mixture to the beaten coconut oil mixture, mixing well after each addition, until all the flour and oat milk have been added.
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Step 6
On a generously floured work surface, roll the pastry out to about 1–1.5 cm thick. Cut off and set aside one-quarter of the pastry for the pie lid.
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Step 7
Use the remaining pastry to line the greased pie dish, making sure it overlaps the edge slightly, so you can attach the lid. Fill with the warm apple mixture, then pat the reserved pastry into a round lid shape and place on top; don’t worry if it breaks, just pinch it back together. This is meant to be a rustic pie, after all! Use a fork or your fingers to press the top and bottom pastry edges together. Using a sharp knife or a fork, poke a few holes in the pie lid to let the steam out.
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Step 8
Sprinkle the cinnamon over the pastry, then the raw sugar. Place in the oven and bake for 40–45 minutes, rotating the pie to ensure even cooking, and loosely covering the top with foil if it starts getting too brown.
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Step 9
Remove from the oven. Leave to cool for a few minutes before serving.
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Hot tip!
Make an apple and blackberry pie by setting aside some of the cooked apple (to enjoy with your breakfast cereal or porridge!) and adding a small handful of fresh or frozen blackberries to the pie filling.
Recipe: Taste for Life
