First ever apple pie

[Andy in Sig]

I've just baked my first ever apple pie. It is cooling on the balcony as I speak. What I can't understand is how the recipe could demand the better part of 2 lbs of apples and expect you to stuff it into a 9 " diameter pie. It was about three apples too many. Plus there is no health warning in these cookery books that any kind of powder you use e.g. flour, cinnamon will at some point explode out of its bag and go all over the place. Also ovens are very hot and burn your fingers when you're trying to fish the damn thing out.

Still it looks like a pie and is sitting there looking unthreatening, quite friendly even. I wonder how long they take to cool right down?

 

[Joe24]

Hmmmm how fast can i get to Germany, and can i get there before it cools eneough for you to remove it from the balcony

 

[Andy in Sig]

I've been very untraditional in not placeing it on a ground floor window sill, thus denying escaping prisoners of war sustenance.

I moved it from it's baking thing to a plate and loads of the most delicious cinammony/lemony/apply/brown sugary juice leaked out. This probably isn't meant to happen but I think it bodes well.

 

[marinyork]

Nice one. How did you get on making the pastry, some pastry is pretty hard to do, kudos to you.

 

[Andy in Sig]

It's what the book calls "short" pastry which is real A level stuff compared to scones (the only other thing I've ever baked). I couldn't resist putting an egg yolk into the mix and this may or may not have been good. You have to sort of mould it with your fingers once you've done the basic rolling. A glass of water is handy to help with the bit you're working on.

 

[Aperitif]

Andy - you really need to get up to speed with Cathryn's Mum's flapjack recipe...winter draws on you know.

Well done on the pie BTW. Do you live near the pie piper of Hamelin?

 

[yoyo]

Andy, congratulations on making your first apple pie. I'm sure it will be the first of many. I can still remember my first effort and marvelling just as much as you. I hope you enjoy every mouthful. Next time just use a mixer with a dough hook to 'rub' the butter into the flour. Using hands is so messy! I sometimes stew the apples first and this enables you to use more to fill the pie. Unfortunately MrYoyo and I have eaten too many apple pies over the years and they need to be avoided to prevent any further expansion.

 

[Andy in Sig]

Custard didn't even enter my mind. I'm afraid I had some of the pie neat. I may have been a bit heavy handed with the lemon juice. In fact when I saw "lemon juice" in the recipe I just assumed it meant squeeze the damned thing dry. I daren't go back and check how much I actually should have put in.

Thanks for all the encouraging comments everybody.