Frugal Food: Apple Pie
When I was in my teens and out of home, I had to very quickly learn how to eat when there isn’t much money. In my early 20s, I prided myself on being able to make dinner for four people for under five bucks – something I think inflation has ensured I probably could never do again!
Having said that, I just had like, five ideas. Anyway.
I always made things from scratch (except pasta, heaven help me) even while at full-time uni and at full-time weekend nightclub partying. It’s stood me in good stead even though I have slightly more than the strict budget days of old (and the I don’t have to shop at the supermarket at 8.45pm to get the marked-down specials), and I still prefer humble, hearty cooking than to fancy frou-frou bits. I’ll leave the frou frou to the experts.
This here is basically flour, salt, butter, apples, cinnamon, and sugar. That’s all you need to make a boring fruit into a cheap dessert that tastes like anything but.
Because I’m a pig, I have to have it with both cream and custard, sometimes ice cream, and sometimes cold out of the fridge. But nothing beats apple pie crust straight out the oven. Yum!
Apple Pie
Print recipe
Ingredients
- 2 cups plain flour
- 1 pinch salt
- 2/3 cups unsalted butter
- 4-5 teaspoons cold water
- 1/4 cup caster sugar
- 4-5 Large apples, peeled, cored, and sliced
- 1/4 cup caster sugar (for filling)
- 100g butter
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
Directions
Step 1
In a large bowl, rub in the butter to the flour and salt until it resembles breadcrumbs.
Step 2
Bit by bit, add the water and mix until it starts to come together.
Step 3
Turn out onto the bench and knead until you get a pliable dough.
Step 4
Wrap in clingwrap and leave in the fridge for about 30 minutes.
Step 5
When ready to roll out the dough, divide it in half. Roll one half out onto a floured surface until slightly larger than your pie plate. Transfer to pie plate and trim extra. You can pre-cook the bottom here so it doesn't go soggy with the filling, or leave it as is. To pre-cook, prick with a fork and pop in the oven for 10 minutes or so just until it is dry but not fully cooked. You can also add baking beads.
Step 6
On the base of the pie, layer the apples, cinnamon and sugar with dots of butter throughout.
Step 7
Roll out the pie top and transfer to the pie. Press down at the edges to ensure a good seal. Poke a hole in the top for the steam to escape.
Step 8
Brush the top with beaten egg, milk, or cream, and sprinkle with a little granulated sugar.
Step 9
Bake in a medium oven (about 180C) until filling is cooked through and the top is golden brown.
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