This Pink Lady®apple and caramel lattice pie was created by Juliet Sear. Made with the lightest shortcrust pastry and packed full of sweet Pink Lady® apples, it’s a sweet treat that’s to die for! Decorate with a lattice pattern or keep it simple with a few pastry leaves or an apple shape on top. Alternatively, check out our ultimate apple pie recipe.
Full preparation
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Blitz the flour and sugar to mix in the food processor, then add the cold butter and pulse a few times until you have a fine breadcrumb texture.
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With the processor on, tip in the egg yolks, vanilla and 3 tablespoons of ice-cold water and mix until it just forms a ball. Do not over mix or the pastry will be tough. You may need a few more teaspoons of water to bring it together as all flour varies.
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Tip out onto the surface, gently bring together, halve and make two discs. Flatten out to about 1cm thickness with your palms then wrap well and leave to rest in the fridge for about 30 minutes
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To make the filling, add all the filling ingredients to a heavy-bottomed saucepan and gently simmer the apples for about 8-10 minutes until they begin to soften.
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Remove these apples with a slotted spoon and place into a large heatproof bowl
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Continue cooking off the liquid until it reduces and thickens to the consistency of golden syrup. You’ll have a delicious caramel left in the pan. Let this cool off the heat for a few minutes, then tip it back in with the apples you reserved in the bowl.
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To cook the pastry case, roll out one of the discs with a little plain flour until larger than the tin. Place this into the tin leaving some excess over hanging slightly (as we’ll trim this after baking). Trim off any large overhanging bits and wrap and save for the decorating and place back in the fridge for 30 mins.
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Make the lid: In between two pieces of baking paper, roll out a large circle, a few inches larger than the top of the tart tin, rolling thinly to about 3mm thickness. Use a plate or something round to mark out a circle slightly bigger than the top of the tin on this piece of pastry, as this will be your guide for where to decorate, and give you some excess for cutting in thin strips or using shapes for decorating the pastry lid. Place this in the fridge so it can firm up before transferring onto the base.
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Take the chilled pastry case out of the fridge, use some scrunched-up baking paper to line the tin, then fill up with baking beans
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Preheat the oven to 180°C (fan) and place the tart tin on a baking sheet and bake blind (with the beans in) for about 15-20 minutes, then carefully remove the paper and beans and bake for a further 5-10 minutes until the tart case is crisp and golden in colour. Remove from the oven.
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While the base is cooking you can add any lattice work or cut out leaf or apple decorations to the pastry disc which is the lid. Use a pastry wheel to make strips from any excess larger than the round bit you have marked out and weave a lattice pattern, using a little egg wash to stick as you go, or simply use flower or leaf shaped cutters, cutting out any excess pastry you have, or any extra reserved from the base. Put this decorated pastry back into the fridge carefully and let set firm. This makes it much easier to add to the filled base, or it will go soft and be impossible to handle.
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Add the cooled filling of apples to the cooked pastry base, to almost the top of the tin, use a spoon to press the apples down and pack them in well, leaving no gaps.
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For the top, brush the baked top edge of the base with a little egg wash, take the chilled disc from the fridge, and place over the top of your apple pie. You can see where you have the marked circle, then using your fingers and thumb, seal all around the edge, pinching down which will join the lid to the base, and cut off the little bit of excess, giving you a beautiful, neatly-topped pie. You might have a little more pastry left which you can re-roll and add more decoration to the top if you wish. Egg wash the whole top.
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To bake it, place it in the oven on 180 degrees for about 20-30 minutes until your top is crisp and golden. Once baked, remove from the oven and leave to cool for 15-20 minutes then carefully remove from the tin and serve warm with custard, cream or ice-cream. Cooled leftovers can be chilled and will last for a few days in the fridge.
