Ingredients
Equipment
Method
Salted Caramel Sauce
- In a saucepan bring cream to the boil. Once the cream has come to a boil take off the heat and cover.1
- Into a clean saucepan, make a dry caramel. Place the pan on a low-medium heat, add in about a ¼ to ⅓ of the sugar, just enough to make a thin layer to cover the base of the pan. At this point do not mix the sugar, leave it to melt on it own.Once to start to see parts of the sugar start to caramelise you can start mixing gently by bringing the sugar from the outside of the pan to the centre. Once all the sugar has caramelised sprinkle in the next portion and gently stir in to the caramel, repeating the process until all the sugar has been added in and caramelised.2
- Once all the sugar has been caramelised, turn the stove down to a low heat and in small increments add in the hot cream constantly stirring between additions. CAUTION: It is important to add cream in small amounts as adding the entire volume of cream you risk the caramel boiling over and potentially burning yourself with hot sugar!When all the cream has been incorporated boil the caramel to 104-105℃ (219-221℉). Then off the heat stir in the knob of butter, followed by the sea salt.Decant the caramel into a heatproof container, surface wrap with cling film and leave to chill in the fridge.
Pie Dough
- Into a large mixing bowl add in flour, sugar and salt. Give it a quick whisk to evenly distribute the sugar and salt.
- Next add in the cold, cubed butter. Rub the butter into the flour until the flour start to resemble a sandy texture. (You should still have clumps of butter)
- Pour in half the ice cold water and bring together with a spoon, as the flour takes on the water the consistency will start to change, almost like a crumbly dough. TEST: Press some of the dough in the palm of your hand, if it crumbles apart add a little more water, if it holds together and feels like a shaggy dough you have added enough water.
- Gently press the dough against the wall of the bowl until it all comes together being careful not to overwork the dough and melt the butter, this will result in the pie crust shrinking in the final bake and having a tough bite.Once the dough has come together, flatten in to a inch thick disc and wrap in cling film and into the fridge to chill for a minimum of 1 hour.
Streusel Topping
- Add all the ingredient into a mixing bowl and rub the butter into the flour, as you get to the sandy texture like withe pie dough you can start to mixing a little more aggressively. Keep this going until a dough starts to form. Stop mixing once you get to a point where dough crumbles when lightly rubbed with your fingers. By hand this will take 3-4 minutes. Keep covered in the fridge to chill and set firm until it comes time to bake.
Pie Filling
- Start by peeling and coring all the apples. The dice them into 2-3 cm pieces, I normally cut the apples into quarters and the cut each quarter into 4-6 pieces depending on the size of the apple.
- Once all the apples are diced add them to the stock pot along with light brown sugar, cornflour, butter, bourbon, sea salt, ground cinnamon and ground nutmeg. Place the pot onto the hob on a medium heat and cook, stirring every so often. We are only partially cooking the apples here to release the juices and thicken the filling, if your pierce a piece of apple with a knife and it penetrates with minimal effort without breaking the apple the filling is ready. This will take around 8-10 minutes.
- Leave the filling to cool of the hob for about 30 minutes until it is lukewarm.
Final Assembly & Bake
- Preheat the oven to 170℃ (338℉).
- Onto a lightly floured work surface, place your chilled pie dough, lightly flour the top of the pie dough and the rolling pin. Working in a north to south direction roll the dough, making sure to lift and rotate the dough every couple of rolls to keep it as round as possible. keep this process doing until the dough is about 30cm (12 inches) in diameter and 5mm thick. Transfer the dough to a baking tray and set in the fridge, covered, for 5 minutes.
- Lightly grease the pie tin with butter or cooking spray. Dust with flour, shaking the tin to coat the base and sides evenly, then tap out the excess onto your work surface.
- Remove the pie dough from the fridge and place over the pie tin. With on hand, lift a part of the dough towards you and with the other hand gently press into the base and side of the tin working your way around.
- Using kitchen scissors or a sharp knife, trim the pastry to leave a 1cm overhang, then tuck this excess under itself along the rim of the tin. To crimp the crust, use the index finger of one hand to push the pastry from the inside between the thumb and index finger of your other hand on the outside. Repeat this around the entire circumference.
- Stir the caramel sauce into the apple filling until well combined. Transfer the apples to the pastry-lined tin, spreading them into an even layer.
- Evenly sprinkle the streusel over the apple filling, ensuring the fruit is well covered. Place the pie onto a baking tray—this will catch any caramel that bubbles over—and bake for 45–55 minutes until the topping is a deep golden brown and the filling is bubbling.
- For the neatest slices, let the pie rest for a minimum of two hours so the caramel filling can firm up. If you are making this in advance, let it cool completely at room temperature, then chill in the fridge overnight. It can be easily reheated in a warm oven before serving with vanilla ice cream or crème anglaise.
Notes
Caramel Sauce
- Heating the cream is an important step to stop the caramel from seizing when the cream is added in.
- when it comes to a dry caramel, add sugar un small increments to the pan will allow you to make the caramel faster and give you more control. Adding all the sugar to the pan in one go will cause a portion of the sugar to burn before the rest has started to melt leaving a very bitter taste. This is purely dependent on the size of your pan.
- The caramel sauce recipe provided is sufficient for the filling; however, if you would like extra for drizzling, simply double the quantities. When ready to serve, gently heat the reserved sauce in the microwave until warm and pourable, then drizzle generously over each slice.
Pie Dough
- You can make the pie dough in a food processor or stand mixer with a paddle attachment. I recommend making it by hand since it is a small quantity to give you more control and reduce the risk of overworking the dough.
Apple Filling
- Partially precooking the filling is going to release the natural juices in the apple, this will prevent the filling from shrinking in the final bake, which you result in either a sunken pie top or a hollow spot between the pie top and filling.
- If you wish to make this alcohol free simply replace the bourbon with apple juice.
- If you find the filling is catching to you pan in the early stage of cooking, add a splash of water or apple juice to help you along, however as the apples release their juices, the juice will deglaze the pan.
- You can use any apple variety you like, but each has a different flavour profile and behaves differently from one another. The secret to a complex apple pie filling is using two types of apples for balance. We start with the Bramley, it's super tart and breaks down beautifully, creating a thick, rich sauce. Then, we add the Royal Gala. It's sweeter and holds its shape, so you get that lovely mix of saucy filling and chunky fruit in every single bite.