Hot Buttered Rum Apple Pie

Surfing the net looking at recipes is something I do a lot. It’s part of my day to day life. In fact I’m pretty sure I don’t (and couldn’t) go a day without doing it. So I see a lot of recipes and it takes something exciting to make me sit up and pay attention.

When I spotted this recipe I think I was drooling before I even clicked on the link! My general reaction was OMG I WANT…no NEED this in my life, immediately if not sooner!

Now J and I generally don’t eat a lot of dessert. Mainly as if I make them I will eat them.. all of them! Which is obviously bad. So I needed an excuse. So under the (bogus) veil of sisterly love and affection I invited my brother and his girlfriend to dinner. Sorry bro, it was all about the pie really!

I’ve already posted what I made for mains, which was frankly delicious (even if I say so myself!), but I like dessert to be the crowning glory of a meal. It should be as thought about and as much work put in as the main course and never an afterthought!

This pie is definatley as much work as a main course, and possibly more besides. It’s not a knock it up and go pie. It is however worth every time consuming procedure it takes to make it! Apples just holding their shape, slightly caramelised and coated with a hint of rummy cinnamon all encased in a flavoursome flaky crust. Franky it’s autumn in a pie! It is however not so much of a looker – as you can probably tell from the photos – it makes up for it in taste though promise.

Although it does contain a fair amount of procedures, a decent amount of it could be done ahead. The crust could be made the night before and set aside until needed. As could the pie filling. It does however require a two hour bake and one hour cool before serving so set plenty of time aside for it. The long cooking time does however make for a really delicious flaky crust, which is definitely the best I’ve ever had. Just a note however on salt – do use unsalted butter for the crust, if you only have salted then omit the extra salt in the recipe, or you will end up with a crust that while still yummy, will be on the salty side!

The recipe I used came from the gorgeous blog Eats Well With Others, it’s a lovely blog, full of beautiful things and everyday inspiration and it’s one I’ve followed for a good while now. I believe the original recipe however came from The Dahlia Bakery Cookbook.

Hot Buttered Rum Apple Pie: (Serves 8)

For The Crust:

350g Self Raising Flour

100g Plain Flour

2 Tbsp Caster Sugar

1 Tbsp Salt

280g Unsalted Butter – Very Cold, Diced

2 tsp White Wine Vinegar

125ml Ice Cold Water

Put the flours, sugar and salt in a food processor and pulse a few time to combine. Add the butter and pulse again a few times (around 10) until the butter has been broken down into small pieces. Combine the vinegar and water and pour slowly through the feed tube while continuing to pulse.

Take the lid off and check the dough – you should be able to clump it together into a ball of dough easily. If it seems dry add more water a tbsp. at a time while continuing to pulse and checking regularly. Tip the dough out and bring together with your hands if you need to. Split the dough in half – roll each into a thick disk the wrap in cling film and place in the freezer for two hours or until needed.

 

For The Filling:

7 Apples – Pink Lady are ideal – but use whatever you like

70g Granulated Sugar

40g Brown Sugar

60ml Dark Rum

4 Tbsp Unsalted Butter

1Tbsp and 2tsp Corn Flour

2 tsp Vanilla Bean Paste

1/2tsp Cinnamon

1/4tsp Nutmeg

1/4 tsp Salt

1 Egg – beaten

2 Tbsp Demerara Sugar

Peel and core the apples then slice them lengthways into 1/4 inch thick strips. Put two saucepans on the heat and divide the granulated sugar between then. DO NOT STIR – Cook the sugar, tilting the pan slightly occasionally until it has melted and become amber. Add the apples and cook for about 6-7 minutes until they are slightly caramelised and golden with just a little give to the touch but not at all mushy. Remove from the pan and allow to cool completely to room temperature.

Preheat oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4

When the apples are totally cool stir in the brown sugar, rum, butter, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, corn flour and vanilla and stir gently to combine.

Remove your crust pastry form the freezer. Flour the work surface well and roll out each piece to a thickness of 1/8 inch and line your pie dish. Brush around the rim with the beaten eggs, retaining some for the top. Pour in your apple mixture and top with the other sheet of pastry. Crimp around the edges to seal them and brush the top with the remaining beaten egg. Cut a cross in the top to allow steam to escape and sprinkle the demerara sugar over the top.

Put the pie on a baking tray and put in the oven. Bake for 30 minutes then tent with foil and bake for a further hour. Remove the foil and bake for 30 minutes more – remove from the oven and allow to cool for 1 hour before serving.

Enjoy and congratulate yourself profusely on all your hard work!