So, after making a horrendous looking apple and caramel pie with my dad, I felt compelled to give pie-making another try - this time with a different family member! I drafted in the help of my best friend and twin sister, Charlotte, who is a brilliant graphic designer. With her creative talent I thought we could try a complex, 'very Pinterest' pie design!
We followed the pie decoration from this image, and followed a fruit pie recipe from Sally's Baking Addiction, but added in our own fruit from the orchard (minus the strawberries from the supermarket). The pastry turned out great - it was lovely and flaky. I achieved this by using another recipe found on Sally's Baking Addiction.
Warning - The decoration on this pie takes a very long time, much longer than I anticipated, and you'll definitely want some help from an extra person if you can.
Ingredients:
Pastry
- 315g Plain flour
- 1 Teaspoon of salt
- 90g unsalted butter, chilled and cubed
- 150g vegetable shortening, chilled
- 120 ml Ice water
Pie Filling
- 300g Apples, pealed and cubed
- 100g Pears, pealed and cubed
- 200g Strawberries, chopped
- 75g Light brown sugar
- 75g Granulated sugar
- 30g Corn flour
- 1/4 Teaspoon salt
- 1 Tbsp range juice
- 1/2 Tsp vanilla extract
- 1 Large egg, lightly beaten with 1 tbsp milk
Instructions:
1) Pastry: Mix the flour and salt together in a large bowl, then add the cubed butter and vegetable shortening.
2) Using two forks, cut the butter and shortening into the mixture until it resembles pea-sized bits within the flour mix.
3) Measure 120 ml of water into a cup and then add ice to it. From this, measure 120 ml of water again (the ice would have melted). Then, drizzle the cold water into the flour and butter mixture, 1 tablespoon at a time. Ensure to stir with a wooden spoon after every tablespoon is added. It is important to not add any more water than you need to. Stop adding the water when the dough begins to form large clumps.
4) Transfer the pie dough onto a floured work surface. The dough should come together easily and shouldn't feel too sticky. Fold the dough into itself until the flour is fully incorporated into the fats. From this, form it into a ball. Next, divide the dough in half. Flatten each half into 1-inch thick discs.
5) Wrap each disc tightly in clingfilm and refrigerate. Ideally, this should rest for 2 hours, but I could only let mine sit in the fridge for 45 minutes.
6) Pie Filling: While your pastry is chilling, stir all of your fruit together with the brown sugar, granulated sugar, cornstarch, orange juice and vanilla extract in a large bowl.
7) Preheat your oven to 200 °C.
8) On a floured work surface, roll out one of the dough discs. Turn the dough about a quarter turn after every few rolls until you have a circle large enough to cover your pie dish and more. Next, carefully place the dough into your pie dish, gently using your fingers to push the dough into place.
9) Next, you will need 6 braids for the pie,12 plain strips and a mixture of leaves. For the braids, cut out 18 long thin strips and braid three together until you have a total of 6 braids. The plain strips should be cut to the same size as the braids.
TIP: I purchased a Fondant Ribbon Cutter from Amazon to ensure all of the strips were the same size.
11) Spoon the filling into your pie crust, ensuring it is all even.
12) Lay out two parallel strips of pie dough and a braid between them on top of the filling, leaving about 2 to 3 millimeters of space between each strip. Fold back each strip. Place three strips of dough diagonal to the parallel strips, creating an “X” in the center of the pie. Continue placing strips of dough, three at a time, onto your pie, folding back and forth until all strips have been used up.
13) Press the strips down around the edge of the pie ensuring it is sealed.
14) Place the leaves around the edge of the pie, using a small amount of milk with a brush to help them stick to the pie. Then, cut off the excess around the edges.
15) Egg wash the pastry on the top of the pie and place on a large baking sheet and bake for 20-30 minutes.
16) Allow the pie to cool for around 20 minutes before serving so that it holds together.
Credit to: Sally's Baking Addiction
This pie will last in the fridge for 3 days, but can be frozen for up to 3 months.
