In association with British Gas
Spiced Apple Lattice Pie with cinnamon, mixed spice, and vanilla is the perfect pie for autumn and is utterly delicious. Using a lattice cutter makes light work of decoration!
This week I’ve teamed up with British Gas to champion the lost art of home economics and at the same time celebrate British Pie Week, which runs from 6 – 12th March. British Pie Week has been running since 2007 and celebrates all our wonderful pastry-encrusted creations.
I can’t say I’ve ever lost the art of home economics, as I won the school prize for this subject and went on to study it at A-Level and beyond.
It’s such a shame that it’s no longer taught in schools, as the lessons I was taught have stayed with me and I put them into practice all the time.
For instance, one afternoon we tested out how much energy was required to boil water on the hob and in a kettle.
We found that the kettle was far more energy efficient, so whenever I need to boil water for vegetables, etc, I always use a kettle to bring the water to the boil first and then add it to the saucepan!
GBBO winner John Whaite (and all round lovely/funny/talented guy who I’ve met) has created the nation’s “Smartest Pie” for British Gas, which uses many energy-saving tips.
Watch the video to see how he makes the nation’s 5 favourite pie fillings, Steak, Vegetable, Chicken, Pork, and Apple, using the principles of Smart Home Economics.
There are some seriously good tips here!
British Gas challenged me to come up with a cost-effective and energy-efficient pie using some of their Smart energy-saving cooking tips. I came up with a Spiced Apple Lattice Pie and used these 4 Top Tips for Smart Pies from British Gas:
- Keep the oven door closed while baking. As tempting as it is to take a peek at your pie, opening the oven door causes the heat to drop and uses extra energy to get back up to temperature.
- Turn the oven off 5-10 minutes before the pie is done. It will retain plenty of heat during this time and will continue to cook your pie to perfection.
- Keep the oven clean. Grease and little pieces of burnt food in the oven can absorb the heat and make the oven less efficient. Keeping the glass clear also gives you a sneak peek while baking. (OK, I can’t lie, my oven needs a clean, but my oven door was clean enough to see through to my pie!)
- There’s no need to pre-cook the apple slices when making apple pie. Simply bake them with the pastry and they’ll still turn out lovely and soft, plus you’ll have saved the energy you would have used when stewing them first.
I made my apple pie with a lattice topping to enable the whole pie to be made from just one sheet of puff pastry.
This makes it economical with both your money and time, as you only need to roll out the trimmings to make a pastry rim and apple decoration if you use a lattice pastry cutter.
I chose to flavour the apples with light soft brown sugar for a caramel note, plus cinnamon, mixed spice, and vanilla for a lovely depth of flavour.
My family loved my apple pi,e so I do hope you give it a try and be mindful of saving energy when you do!
Did you know that a smart meter is an easy way of keeping track of energy use in real time, thus avoiding any unexpected bills?
You can get them installed for free as part of the government’s plan to reduce carbon emissions! I’m off to tell my husband all about them as he loves saving money!
More British Pie Recipes
Here are some more delicious pie recipes:
- Sumptuous Turkey Pie – Fab Food 4 All
- Steak Pie – Christina’s Cucina
- Beef & Guiness Pie with Vanilla & Thyme – Bangers & Mash
- Chicken Brie & Cranberry Pie – Christina’s Cucina
- Chicken Leek and Ham Pie in a Cheese & White Wine Sauce – Glug of Oil
- Monday Pie – creamy chicken pie made with leftovers – Mint Custard
- Sausage Feta and Tomato Filo Pie – Foodie Quine
- Gala Pie – Patisserie Makes Perfect
- Vegetarian Nut Road Pie – Domestic Gothess
- Classic Apple Pie – Kavey Eats
Pin for later!
NB Post commissioned by British Gas.
Spiced Apple Lattice Pie
Ingredients
- 650 g dessert apples I used a mix of Braeburns & Pink Ladies
- 1 tablespoon freshly squeeze lemon juice to prevent browning
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon mixed spice
- scraped seeds of 1 vanilla pod or 1 tsp vanilla paste/extract
- a few grinds of salt
- 100 g light soft brown sugar
- 320 g ready rolled puff pastry
- 1 egg beaten (for eggwash)
- granulated sugar for sprinkling
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 190ºC.
- Fill a bowl with enough water to cover your apples and add the lemon juice.
- Peel, core, quarter and thinly slice the apples, placing the slices in the water as you do to prevent them browning.
- Mix the cornflour, vanilla seeds (if using extract wait for next step), cinnamon, mixed spice, salt and sugar until well combined. (You might want to used your fingers to distribute the vanilla seeds)
- Drain the apple slices and spin dry in a salad spinner if you have one, otherwise pat dry with a clean tea towel.
- Pour the cornflour mix over the top of the apples and mix well.
- If using vanilla paste or extract now is the time to add this.
- Unroll the puff pastry (keeping the paper in place) and give it a few rolls with a rolling pin to make it a little deeper (not longer).
- Place a 20 cm upturned pie plate on top of the left hand side of the pastry sheet leaving about 1cm of pastry either side and cut with a knife to leave about 1/3 of a sheet to the right.
- Now place the square of pastry sitting under your pie plate into your pie plate and pat in using your knuckles.
- Hold the pie plate in your left hand and using the back of a sharp knife, cut away the excess pastry.
- Roll out the excess pastry to a rectangle and cut 1.5 cm wide strips.
- Dab the strips with water using a pastry brush and line the rim of the pie plate with as many as needed (I used 3).
- Re-roll the last bit of pastry and cut out a small circle, fashion it into an apple shape and cut out a couple of tiny leaves with a knife and score on veins. (If you want)!
- Place the apples (and the juices that they will now have produced) into the pie dish and arrange neatly.
- With the remaining 1/3 of pastry, roll a lattice pastry cutter over it (and again down the side where you’ve missed) make use you roll fully from one end to the other. (If you don’t have a lattice pastry cutter, just cut thin strips of pastry and weave or criss cross over the pie).
- Wet the rim of the pie with a pastry brush.
- Pick up the scored pastry (which might stick to the paper so yell for help at this point, or if none available just upturn the pastry onto the middle of the pie and gently peel off the paper).
- Tease out the lattice over the pie by placing a knife underneath and gently pull apart the lattice from either side.
- Then trim the excess pastry using the back of a knife.
- Brush the back of the pastry apple and leaves with water and lay on pie.
- Brush the pastry lattice and apple decoration with egg wash and then sprinkle with granulated sugar.
- Place the pie on a baking sheet and bake on the bottom shelf of oven for 20 minutes at 190ºC.
- Then turn the oven down to 175ºC and bake for about another 55 minutes.
- Towards the end of baking you’ll need to cover the pie loosely with foil to prevent burning (my pie needed covering in the last 15 minutes). Close the oven door as soon as you have removed the pie to retain the maximum amount of heat.
- Turn the oven off (leaving the fan on for fan assisted ovens) in the last 5 minutes of baking to save energy.
- The pie is ready when a cocktail stick is easily inserted into the apple slices.
- Once ready, allow the pie to cool down for about ½ an hour and serve warm or cold with ice cream, cream or custard.
Sharon Martin
yummy this looks delicious
William Gould
My wife has a habit of leaving the oven door open while she swaps things around from shelf to shelf. I’ll have to get her to read this!
Leila Benhamida
I will have to try your recipe. I never tried cooking this type of dessert with salt before. Looks yummy.
Camilla
Thanks Leila, let me know what you think-)
Richard Eldred Hawes
Now I do like a nice apple pie and the lattice pastry makes it even more appetising
Camilla
It makes it so pretty doesn’t it:-)
Rowena
I made this today and it tastes INCREDIBLE! It made the whole house smell fabulous too!
Camilla
Fabulous Rowena, so glad you enjoyed it, thanks for letting me know:-)
Michelle @ Vitamin Sunshine
I’ve never heard of anyone stewing apples or cooking them before putting them in a pie! My mom always just put them in uncooked. Maybe thats a British vs. American thing?! This pie is gorgeous!
Camilla
I think that’s because we have cooking apples over here (Bramleys) and on doing some research these do need cooking before putting in the oven but dessert apples don’t.
Platter Talk
We can’t buy the lattice puff pastry here but I guess I could cut the puff pastry as yours is. I love the look! Great tips on saving energy too.
Camilla
We can’t buy lattice pastry either, I used the cutter which is pictured:-)
Heather @Boston Girl Bakes
This is so pretty! And I love the lattice tool going to have to get me one of those!
Camilla
Thanks Heather, yes the pastry cutter is fab:-)
Natalie | Natalie's Food & Health
This pie looks really amazing. Love that it has so many fresh apples inside. I bet it taste delicious! Love lattice pastry cutter 🙂
Camilla
Thanks Natalie, it was a fabulous pie and the pastry cutter worked a treat:-)
Claire | Sprinkles and Sprouts
Apple pie is just such a comforting pud isn’t it?
I adore your lattice top, so pretty!!!!
YUM! I can almost smell it in the oven!
Camilla
Thank you Claire, it was my first time using a lattice top so I was very pleased with the result:-)
Hannah Hossack-Lodge
What a fabulous pie! I love the lattice top and you can’t beat a good spiced apple pie 🙂 There’s some great tips too, I definitely don’t clean my oven often enough!
Camilla
Thanks Hannah, yes I don’t clean mine often enough either or defrost the freezer when I should. Puts both on list for this weekend!
Katie Bryson
Wow Camilla what a fabulous apple pie… wonderful chunky filling and pretty lattice top – perfection! I’m also loving that 5 pies in one pie dish thing… I’d like to sample that!!!!!
Camilla
Thanks Katie. Yes 5 pies in one looks like a meal I’d like to sample;-)
Corina
What a beautiful pie – It look so pretty with that lattice top! I do love cinnamon and apple together and it definitely makes an apple pie a little bit more special!
Camilla
Thank you Corina, yes apples and cinnamon are the perfect flavour combination:-)
Becca @ Amuse Your Bouche
Haha I always use a kettle to boil water rather than the hob, mostly just because I’m lazy – but it’s nice to know I’m being more energy efficient as well 😉 Love the look of this pie, such a pretty lattice! That little tool is so nifty!
Camilla
Thanks Becca:-) Well there you go, your actions were based on logic as we women are very logical:-)
Jan Bennett
That is one good looking pie!
Camilla
Thanks Jan, it tasted great too:-)
Steve | Big Stevie Cool Food Blog
I forgot it was British Pie week – this looks like my kind of pie!
Camilla
Thanks Steve, it is really good:-)
Pierateer Rob
What a lovely looking apple pie – and some energy saving tips I’ve not thought about before! Maybe our Ship’s Cook should give it a go sometime!
Camilla
Thanks Rob, it was lush and the tips are really useful. Must clean my oven soon! I descaled my kettle the other night so it’s a start:-)
Christina | Christina's Cucina
Who doesn’t love a pie, whether sweet or savoury?! Your apple pie is very similar to American apple pies, Camilla! They love their cinnamon in apple pies over here! I love the lattice top! Thanks for sharing my pies, too!
Camilla
Thanks Christina, loving your pies too:-)
Choclette
Your pie looks gorgeous Camilla. Latticing is so effective, but I never have the patience. You’ve got some good tips there, though it’s made me realise I seriously need to clean my oven 🙁 Glad to see British Gas are tackling energy efficiency.
Camilla
Thank you Choclette, the tips are really good, I never thought to switch my oven off towards the end of cooking!
Angela
What a delicious looking pie and some great tips. I’m relieved that I do some of these – but my oven still needs a clean!
Camilla
Thanks Angela, well we probably use our ovens more than most, well that’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it:-)
Kavey
Love your lattice work, so beautiful, really lifts the apple pie into something even more special!
Camilla
Thank you Kavey, it seemed the perfect time to treat myself to a Lattice Pastry Cutter:-)
Amy Fidler
Love Apple pie,so this is one i find enticing to bake x
Camilla
Thanks Amy:-)
Heather Haigh
There is something so wonderful about a spiced apple pie. Irresistable.
Camilla
Thanks Heather, can’t believe I’ve never made one before!