Just Baking

With the beginning of a new school season comes the realization that summer is almost finished and the abundance of autumn is on its way. There is a coolness in the morning breeze signaling the coming of this beautiful season and orchards are beckoning us to come ‘pick your own’. In order to enjoy the wealth of fresh apples available in Ontario, I went to Chudleigh’s Apple Farm to marvel at the numerous apple varieties they offer and to enjoy one of the last beautiful days of summer.

The apples that were available for picking the day I went were Ginger Gold and Wealthy. I had never heard of either and was excited to go out into the orchard to pick them straight off the tree. We were told that two apples equaled a pound and they sure were huge! Nothing beats eating a crisp, juicy apple off the tree - the Ginger Gold was gorgeous and I picked a bagful of Wealthy apples to take home and bake with.

I decided to try a different apple pie recipe from my usual one. The crust called for sour cream and lard. As I don’t have lard on hand, I replaced it with all vegetable shortening. I don’t know how much of a difference this had on the final product, but I find that you can make a great crust using butter and shortening. The only mistake I made was slicing my apples too thinly. Next time I’ll make them thicker so that they don’t make the filling all mushy. Overall, the pie was enjoyable - the crust was nice and the filling was spiced perfectly.

If you have the opportunity to pick your own apples I highly suggest you do! It’s lots of fun for everyone and if you get hungry, no problem, eat an apple. Just watch out for all those pesky bees - they’re in apple heaven.

Grandma Thompson’s Prize-Winning Apple Pie

Double-Crust Sour Cream Pastry (see below)
1 egg yolk
2 tbsp coarse sugar

Filling:
8 apples (such as McIntosh or Northern Spy), about 3 lbs (1.5 kg)
3/4 cup granulated sugar (175 mL)
2 tbsp cornstarch (25 mL)
1 tsp cinnamon (5 mL)
pinch each ground nutmeg and salt
2 tbsp butter, softened (25 mL)

Filling

Peel and core apples; cut into 1/4-inch thick slices and place in large bowl. In small bowl, toss together sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt; add to apples and toss to coat.

On lightly floured surface, roll out half of the pastry to generous 1/8-inch (3 mm) thickness; fit into 9-inch pie plate. Trim to leave 3/4-inch (2 cm) overhang; fold under and flute edge. Scrape filling into pie shell; dot with butter.

Roll out remaining pastry. Whisk egg yolk with 1 tbsp water; brush over pastry rim. Fit pastry over filling; trim to leave 3/4-inch (2 cm) overhang. Fold overhang under bottom pastry rim; seal and flute edge. Brush egg mixture over pastry. Cut steam vents in top; sprinkle with coarse sugar.

Bake in bottom third of 450° F (230° C) oven for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 350° F (180° C); bake for 65 minutes or until bottom is bubbling and thickened. Let cool on rack. (Make Ahead: Set aside for up to 24 hours.) Makes 8 servings.

Pastry:

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (625 mL)
1/2 tsp salt (2 mL)
1/2 cup each cold butter and lard, cubed (125 mL)
1/4 cup ice water (50 mL)
3 tbsp sour cream (50 mL)

In bowl, whisk flour with salt. Using pastry blender, cut in butter and lard until mixture resembles fine crumbs with a few larger pieces.

In small bowl, whisk water with sour cream; drizzle over dry ingredients, stirring briskly with fork until ragged dough forms. Divide in half; press into discs. Wrap each in plastic wrap; refrigerate until chilled, about 30 minutes. (Make Ahead: Refrigerate for up to 3 days.)

Source: Canadian Living Magazine, October 2007.

Note : I replaced lard with all vegetable shortening.