Comfort food

 

Comfort Food
This past week saw me make an apple crumble. I normally enjoy the crumble  during the cold months but I really wanted the classic dessert as tea time treat.
So I went on line and found this recipe which really worked and I was able to have my apple crumble. Why not try it with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 55 minutes

Ingredients:
Pastry
7 oz/200g all purpose/plain flour
pinch of salt
1 stick/ 110g butter, cubed or an equal mix of butter and lard
2-3 tbsp cold water
Filling
1 ½ lbs/700g cooking apples, peeled, cored and quartered
2 tbsp lemon juice
½ cup/ 100g sugar
4 - 6 tbsp cold water
1 level tsp ground cinnamon
¼ stick/25g butter
Milk to glaze

Preparation: Method
1) Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean bowl.
2) Rub the butter into the flour with your fingertips until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs, working as quickly as possible to prevent the dough becoming warm.
3) Add the water to the mixture and using a cold knife stir until the dough binds together, add more cold water a teaspoon at a time if the mixture is too dry.
4) Wrap the dough in Saran wrap/Clingfilm and chill for a minimum of 15 minutes, up to 30 minutes.
Tip: The dough can also be made in a food processor by mixing the flour, butter and salt in the bowl of the processor on a pulse setting. When the mixture resembles breadcrumbs, add the water, slowly, through the funnel until the dough comes together in a ball. Wrap in Saran wrap/ Clingfilm and chill as above.
5) Heat the oven to 425°F/220°C/gas 7.
6) Meanwhile simmer the apples with the lemon juice and water in a large pan until soft. Add the sugar and cinnamon to the cooked apples. Remove from the heat and add the butter and leave to cool.
7) Roll out half the pastry and line a 7 inch/13cm pie dish. Put the cooled, cooked apple mixture into the pastry case.
8) Roll out the remaining pastry to make a lid for the pie. Damp the edges of the pastry in the dish with a little cold water, cover with the lid and press the edges firmly together and crimp the edges to decorate.
9) Brush the top of the pie with milk and bake at the top of a hot oven for 20 - 25 minutes.
10) Serve hot or cold with cream, ice cream or custard  sauce.
Source:http://britishfood.about.com/od/recipeindex/r/applepie.htm