The Core Facts

Overall verdict: A lovely apple pie with thin, crisp pastry and deliciously soft apple flavoured with clove – especially impressive as it uses little sugar
Timings: 20 mins prep + 30 mins pastry chill + 45 mins bake
Sugar: 50g
Butter: 40g + 40g lard
Type of apple: Bramley & Cox (I substituted Granny Smith for Cox)

The Long Peel

I have always loved Delia Smith recipes. She is not afraid to give you very detailed instructions on the basics, which to some people might come across as patronising but to me is very welcome. In Delia Smith’s recipe for English Apple Pie she explains how to sieve the flour and exactly how to roll the pastry.

This recipe wins the award for least amount of sugar so far in this project. Delia uses 50g (plus a bit for sprinkling on top). The next lowest was Mary Berry with 75g.

The Pastry

I was convinced that I wasn’t going to have enough pastry for this one. The recipe only used 175g of flour, which seemed like a small amount. But it rolled out really well and didn’t stick or break apart.

I only realised after baking that my dish was 3cm wider than Delia’s. This explains why my pastry was thinner. But I actually really liked it thin.

I did have to skip one ingredient: I didn’t have semolina to line the base before the apples are added.

The Apples

Delia instructs that the apples should be closely packed – no just throwing them in for her. The sugar is layered with the apples and 6 whole cloves are added.

The Mary Berry Classic Apple Pie used four whole cloves and I had been slightly underwhelmed by the subtle flavour of that. I can confirm that six cloves provide a much stronger effect and I would recommend six as a good number.

The Bake

Delia asks for the oven to be heated to 220 degrees, which I think is the hottest setting I have ever used. The pie goes in on a high shelf for 10 minutes and then is moved to a lower shelf and 190 degrees for another 35-40 minutes.

The Dish

Delia uses a dish that is 20cm. Mine was 23cm, so my pastry was stretched a bit further. I liked the thin pastry but it wasn’t what she intended.

The Hot Slice

It sliced well but the thin base didn’t always hold when I lifted the slides onto plates.

The Rested Result

You can see how thin and crispy the pastry is. The base broke apart very slightly when I lifted it out of the pie dish.

If We Repeeled

• Add the semolina
• Use a 20cm dish as Delia requested

Scores

Simplicity of bake: Simple
Pastry texture: Beautifully thin and crispy
Pastry taste: Light with a sweet crunch on top – complimented the apples well
Apple texture: Perfectly soft
Apple taste: Just the right amount of cloves
Apple to pastry ratio: Good
Overall score: 10/10