British Recipes > Banbury Apple Pie

This recipe is part of the November 2006 Recipes Menu


Starter - Celery and Stilton Soup
Main Course - Harvest Rabbit Pie
Dessert - Banbury Apple Pie

How to make Banbury apple pie:
A very old apple pie recipe from Banbury in Oxfordshire. This would have always been made with cooking apples which tend to be tarter than eating apples and cook to a pulp which makes them suitable for pies.





Ingredients

3 cups (12oz) plain/all purpose flour
pinch of salt
3/4 cup (6oz) butter
1 tablespoon caster/superfine sugar
1 egg, lightly beaten
six large cooking apples, peeled, cored and thinly sliced
juice half lemon
1/2 cup (4oz) sultanas
3 tablespoons soft light brown sugar
pinch of ground cinnamon
pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
grated rind and juice of 1 orange
fresh milk to glaze
caster/superfine sugar for sprinkling
(see measure conversions for more information)

Method

- To make the pastry, put the flour and salt in a bowl and rub in the butter until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.
- Stir in the caster sugar, and then stir in the egg and enough water to bind the mixture together.
- Knead lightly on a lightly floured surface.
- Roll out two thirds of the pastry and use to line a shallow pie dish.
- Put the apples slices in a bowl and sprinkle with lemon juice.
- Layer the apples, sultanas, brown sugar, spices and orange rind in the pie dish.
- Sprinkle with the orange juice.
- Roll out the remaining pastry to form a lid and place on top of the pie dish.
- Press the edges together and neaten.
- Make a slit in the centre of the pie.
- Brush the top with milk to glaze, then bake in a preheated oven temperature 400oF/200oC/gas mark 6 for 30 minutes, until golden brown.
- Sprinkle the top with caster sugar and serve hot or cold.