Episode 5: Pies

Recipe (Technical Challenge): Mini Apple Pies

One thing I hadn’t really considered in doing this challenge was the seasonality of ingredients. This recipe is actually for PEARS but as it is in the middle of summer, there are no pears to be found. So apples it is! I found out that there is probably a reason why they went with pears – it’s a much sturdier fruit and structurally holds up a bit better than apples, which can disintegrate (also – do not poach for too long).

Anyway, the recipe for the challenge: http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/mini_pear_pies_77186

The preparation for this recipe is broken down into three parts:

Make pastry

Poach pears

Pastry + Pears

The pastry assembly was really interesting. It is a “quick” puff pastry. I’ve never made my own puff pastry before (although I have made laminated doughs, which is similar) and this method called for grating frozen lard & butter into flour (equal parts flour + lard/butter = eek!). You work it together and then do 3-4 triple folds (lamination style). I was actually quite pleased with how it turned out and frankly, how fast and easy it was. Although I probably won’t make this exact recipe again, I will definitely try out the pastry.

As I mentioned I had no pears, so I poached 6 apples. I think I poached them for too long. I didn’t remind myself that these apples are then baked, so cooking them soft isn’t exactly necessary. You want to cook them enough that they are softened but still quite firm.

The pastry rolled out & up close. You can see the flecks of butter/lard. 

Once the apples/fruit are cooled, you roll out the pastry and cut it into strips. These strips will be wrapped, mummy-style, around the fruit. I didn’t find this too challenging, however I just found it kind of unattractive. Anyway, after you’ve wrapped your fruit, you apply a couple of pastry decorations, glaze with an egg wash and bake to golden-y goodness.

They’re aliiiive! My pastry-wrapped mummy apple pies

Unfortunately 2 of my apples pretty much melted, which made them a pretty sorry sight – they were delicious, however!

Overall: 6/10

Up next…tiered tarts!