Apple Pie - please help me

[Dustyblue]

This is one dish that has eluded me. I always get it wrong somehow.

I ask because I have loads of apples from a friend's tree. They're big yellow ones that stew up beautifully. It's the pastry and baking that I can't do properly.

I've tried using a basic short-crust pastry and blind baking, but still get a soggy bottom. Also the pastry I make isn't sweet and nice enough.

How do you do it? I'd love to make a proper pie, rather than just stewed apples and vanilla ice cream, nice as it is.

Apples in May? Anyway I always toss the fruit with a tablespoon of cornflour and some sugar. That helps with the sogginess a bit.

Are you using a metal pie dish and baking it on a preheated tray? Rather than the oven rack.

I think you need a mixture of apples that cook down to mush, like Bramleys, and apples that hold their shape, like granny smiths. If you use all mushy apples.....then you get mush.

I also toss in a mixture of cornflour and caster sugar to coat, and I always bake the pastry case first 'blind' first too, but I think the combination of apples is key

Yes apples in May- I'm in Australia :)

Where do you live that you have apples in May?

Replace some of the water with egg add a bit of icing sugar with the flour. Sprinkle a teaspoon of ground almond under the apple. Toss the sliced raw apple in a mixture of cornflour, brown sugar, cinnamon/lemon zest.

Yes, I use either a metal springform fluted pie dish (same as you might use for a quiche). Or a larger dish.

I would preheat a baking tray and place the pie dish on that. Or a stone or something if you have it. Something to make the bottom set as fast as possible.

This sounds good. I hadn't thought of using ground almond under the apples.

So you cook yours with raw apples? I can't decide which method is better.

But thank you!

There’s nothing wrong with a soggy bottom. I quite like them. I don’t think you’ll ever get a crisp one.

So, cook the apples first? Or thinly slice, coat and bake them with the already blind-baked pastry?

So simple and yet so difficult!!

You use raw apples, not cooked ones

I use raw apples. And now I’m a bit jealous of the Australian fresh apples!

Delia's recipe

Ooh I like Delia's.

Ok, so raw apples not cooked, blind bake the pastry 1st. I always worry that the base will overcook and brown on the edges... but better than the alternatives.

Thanks all, I'm so keen to try :)

Cheats apple pie here... sheet of ready rolled puff pastry, top one half with stewed apple (leave edges free for crimping), slice another apple thinly and put on top of the stewed apple, fold the sheet over, crimp the edges, put a couple of steam slits in the top, put on a baking tray, egg wash the top, sprinkle granulated sugar on top, cook for 40 minutes or so.

Don't be too jealous! These are also known as 'Horse Apples'.

They take a lot of manicuring, but the flavour is worth it in the end 😁

No need to blind bake for an apple pie. Roll out your pastry thinly, bake in a hot oven.

Don't cook the apples first, just slice them thinly over the pastry. Before putting the top pastry on, add a sprinkle of sugar, a small sprinkle of cinnamon and of nutmeg, and scatter about five whole cloves in.
Seal the top pastry lid onto the base well. Glaze with milk (or egg & milk wash) and sprinkle lightly with granulated sugar.
Watch out for the whole cloves and discard them as you are eating your delicious apple pie.

I should get a life but I think it must be a Hoss apple .

My grandfather said that his grandfather was a Revolutionary soldier, and that after the war he, together with two other soldiers decided to try and improve the fruits and vegetables so necessary to their welfare. These three veterans, Jacob Hoss, Charles Robertson and John Margaret, (not sure that Margaret’s given name was John but am sure of the surname) got together and decided to concentrate on apples. Both Robertson and Margaret propagated very good eating apples, but they did not keep well in winter. Keeping fruit in those early days was a real problem. But the apple Hoss propagated was a marvelous cooking apple and it kept well, and is still in use today
https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Hoss-153
Apparently it's "A little tough, sprightly, subacid, aromatic".

I don't make sweet shortcrust pastry but after glazing with egg and/or milk sprinkle the top with demerara sugar. No need to blind bake the pastry or pre-cook the apples. I usually toss the apple pieces in cinnamon and a bit of granulated sugar.

There is a difference between a soggy bottom and an uncooked bottom! Most people confuse this, in a tart like apple/rhubarb it's practically impossible to not have a soggy base pastry layer, it might be crisp initially for a short while when it comes out of the oven but as it sits the juice will soak into it. There is nothing wrong with this once it is a cooked base and not uncooked pastry. The only way to avoid it would be to have a dry sort of tart and I like them juicy! That said tossing fruit in cornflour helps thicken up the juice a bit which is nicer than a watery juice, I do this with rhubarb but not with apple as it's the amount of sugar that can cause excess juice and rhubarb needs a lot of sugar, apple not so much.

I have never blind baked pastry for a tart or ever used already cooked fruit in 40 odd years of baking, it's different if you are making a flan case or a pie like lemon meringue or french apple tart, these have no tops and are crisp based but a traditional apple tart will after a very short time out of oven develop a lovely juice soaked base, its just important to make sure it's fully cooked on base.

If you want a nice pastry with hint of sweetness use 8oz flour, 2oz icing sugar, 5oz butter and moisten with egg yolk mixed with couple of tablespoons of water, a nice crisp short sweet pastry.

You can paint the bottom with egg yolk if you blind bake which does make it less liable to seep but I think if you get the cornflour ratio right ground almond is better. I would bake the rhubarb first and possibly put a bit of thick confectioners custard under it.

@rileynexttime I can't post a pic but that sure looks like them! Imagine that pic but with lots of brown spots and manky bits. You have to discard a fair bit of fruit to manicure them properly but they cook really well.

I took everyone's advice to cook the whole thing from raw and it worked! Maybe a little soft but still a good pie.

Another option OP, is to use a pre-cooked pasty case. When I lived in Aus, you could buy pampas brand ones in the frozen dessert section of coles/woollies etc. I also found this one from Woolies. You could then add your filling and lay a layer of pastry on top before baking. It 'might' help the soggy bottom issue. Otherwise- apple crumble is delicious too😋

Woolworths Pastry Flan Case 150G | Woolworths

This is my way of doing it too except I use thinly sliced raw Bramley apples.

I put the ready made pastry on the bottom and sides of my pie tin

I then prick the pastry several times with a fork then blind bake with foil covered in rice for 15 mins

I then take the foil off and put it back in the oven for around 10 mins till it's golden brown

I then put in my pre stewed apple mixture, put the lid on and poke a hole in the middle and bake for 30 mins or so