Delectables with Dan: Stuff My Basket (An Easter Special) 3: Finger Licking...Pie

I thought maybe after the fudge-packing incident on the other blog, I might want to take things in a different direction, but nope. Here we are with finger licking...pie. Today's pie is a succulent apple raspberry pie! I know I said I wasn't going to do that much for Easter, but this can also be made for spring! It's a fresh, fruity taste that plays with flavours and reminds you that warmer weather & longer days are on their way. 

You Will Need:
1 box of 2 ready-made pie crusts
*Allow them to soften before attempting to use them. I like to leave them out on the counter overnight, but if you don't have time for that, just make sure that they're soft.*

4  apples (I'm using 2 Granny Smith Apples and 2 Red Delicious Apples. Baking Apples will work. If you're using 4 apples, make sure they are small to medium-sized. If using large apples, use 3. )

1 container (6oz) fresh red raspberries (You can use frozen, but make sure they are in natural juice and defrosted/thawed before using.)

1 tablespoon cold butter cut into small pieces 

1 teaspoon granulated sugar 

1 teaspoon grated orange or tangerine peel. (you can use mandarins or clementines; I don't think it really matters.) 

150g granulated sugar (This is not apart of the 1 teaspoon of granulated sugar listed earlier; don't add them together.)
30g cornflour (cornstarch in the US; cornflour in the US is completely different, so don't use it!) 

2 tbs. ground ginger

The first thing you have to do is prep your ingreidents. Your pie crusts should have already softened, so we need to turn out attention to the apples. And fucking hell, I hate that I have to say this, but don't put your pie crusts in the microwave if you're using the frozen kind or if they haven't become soft yet. Simply wait. I shouldn't have to point out the obvious. Where was I? Apples. Right, you want to peel and core them. Be careful not to pull off too much of the apple "meat" with that peeler; so many people do. You need thicc and sexy apples for this pie. Once you've done that you'll need to core them using an apple corer. We're going to be slicing the apples into slices so it doesn't matter if you don't have a corer; When you slice the apple into sections, simply cut the area at the top inward area of the slice where the core it. The apples will be a bit slippery, so use caution when cutting.

You're going to need a pie baking dish for this, so pull one out of it's hiding place (Oh God, that sounded far more perverse than I wanted it to, sorry.) Some people don't spray their dish with baking spray, but I do when I make a pie. I feel that it keeps the crust from getting stuck should some of the insides leak out. (That happens more than people realise.) Take one of your soft pie crusts and carefully place it inside the dish. Sometimes it can be tricky when you unroll the premade, so approach it calmly and gently. Don't get pissed off like I usually do and tear the thing. Surprisingly, things went smoothly this time. Leave the top of the pie crust up over the edges like pictured here; you're going to use that later. Once again, I have to say this because some people trim the excess that's over the top of the dish.



Pre-heat your oven to 200C (400F). In a large mixing bowl, place your cornflour, sugar & cinnamon and mix them together. Blend it up. Once you've done that add your apples, both types and coat them in a thin layer of the cornflour, sugar & cinnamon flavouring. Do note, that you can use a sugar substitute in place of sugar in this pie. I did and it turned out amazing. Make sure that it measures as normal sugar; some packages say that, some do not. If it does not, check a conversion chart online. You don't want your pie too sweet! Once you've coated your apples, place half of the seasoned mixture into the pie crust, making sure that it's done as evenly as possible. 



Once you've made sure your apple mixture is as evenly level as possible, take your raspberries and sprinkle them over the top of them. Do not crush the berries and make sure that they're evenly distributed over the top of the apples. They will get a bit mushy as they cook, the apples won't turn to mush if you've done it properly.  When you slice through the pie you want the raspberries to ooze over the tops of the apple slices nestled under that beautiful golden crust and oh my god I'm writing a food porno. You guys get where I''m going with this, right?



Add the rest of the apples to the top of the raspberries. You want to make a nice thee layer filling for this baby. Apples, raspberries, apples. Perfection. Once you've done that, turn your attention to the second pie crust. Before we use it, we're going to make a nice little solution to brush over the top of it with a pastry brush. In a small cup, take that single spoon of sugar (or sugar substitute) and dissolve it in a small cup of water. Give it a quick stir with the pastry brush and set it to the side for a moment. You want your crust on top before you brush it over. In the centre of the pie crust, if you wish, use a cute spring or Easter themed biscuit cutter to cut out the centre of the pie. I used a little duckie. I got tired of the fucking egg-shaped shit and, truth be told, I lost my rabbit one and I'm too cheap to go out and buy a new one. Carefully press the biscuit cutter into the centre until it cuts all the way through the dough. Lift out the shape like you would with a biscuit and set it to the side. Taking the full pie crust with the shape cut out of it, carefully drape it over the top of the pie. Try to make it as even as possible.



Now with the crust, as you go, slowly roll the edges inward and press the upper layer of dough into the lower layer of dough. You may need to trim off a tiny bit of the crust off as you so, Tuck that shit in good in tight like it's your child. Well, maybe if you tucked your kind in like that they need to ring childline...if they got free...moving on! After you've done that brush the outside with the sugar water making sure that you cover the surface with a thin layer of the solution,

Pop onto a baking tray before you put it into the oven just in case the crust seams leak and some overhang starts to pool out. We don't need it looking like a murder scene in the bottom of our ovens, do we? (Sorry professional hazard...no, I'm not a serial killer. Honest.) Allow it to bake for 50-60 minutes.  When done the crust should be a light to medium coloured golden brown.



Remove from the oven and allow it to cool for roughly one hour before serving. It gives the insides a chance not only to cool but to settle down.  Top with a scoop of vanilla ice-cream and serve! (I only had vanilla-chocolate, so hence the chocolate bit there.) Makes great for an after dinner dessert or a noontime snack with coffee!