There's a fly in my soup!: 9 down 71 to GO! Appel Tert

It has been a very cold and rainy weekend in Cape Town. Sometimes your trusty woollen jersey, a glass of 20 year old brandy or a fireplace right in the middle of the lounge just doesn't cut it. How about a freshly baked apple pie smothered with some hot custard to warm your senses?

I would be lying if I told you that I've always loved apple pie. It is something I learned to like and eventually fell in love with as I got older. The way I see it, if I don’t like something I always ask myself, “Why do millions of other people like it but not me? What am I missing?” This encourages me to try it in all different ways with the hope of eventually liking it and ultimately falling in love with it.

I gave apple pie a chance and lo and behold I actually started liking it. A couple of years ago I couldn't imagine myself enjoying apple pie. Today it’s a matter of “Does it come with cream or custard?” and not “I’ll take a slice of pie but leave the apples”.

I was a bit concerned when I read through this recipe. The whole thing just felt very queer to me. Never the less I pushed through and made it ALMOST exactly according to the recipe. I tweaked a couple of measurements here and there and to my amazement it actually worked and came out beautifully.

The texture and balance of flavour was just out of this world. Every bite was like a piece of fruity and spicy heaven. The cinnamon, vanilla and brandy softly kiss your senses as the sweetness of the currants balance out the sourness of the apples. From texture to flavour the pie was moist but never soggy with the fruits being the star of the show. Every slice baked to perfection and every bite guaranteed to warm up even the dreariest of days.

This apple pie is a must and I promise you, you will definitely not regret it. Warm yourself this winter with a slice of traditional South African apple pie.

APPEL TERT

Crust:

125g butter
125ml (½ cup) sugar
1 egg
250 ml (1 cup) self-rising flour
2,5ml (½ tsp) salt
125ml (½ cup) milk

Filling:

6 Granny Smith Apples peeled and quartered
15ml (1 tbs) sugar
3 cinnamon scrolls
60ml (¼ cup) currants

Sauce:

60ml (¼ cup) sugar
75ml (5 tbs) milk
5ml (1 tsp) vanilla essence
15 ml (1 tbs) brandy
3 cinnamon scrolls (Used in filling)

Step 1 – Beat the butter and sugar until creamy. Add the egg and beat together.

Step 2 – Sift the self-rising flour and salt together and it add bit by bit to the butter mixture.

Step 3 – Spray two 20cm pie dishes with non-stick cooking spray and spread the dough mixture in the pie dish.

Step 4 – Add the quartered apples, sugar, cinnamon scrolls and currants in a sauce pan. Stew until the sugar is melted.

Step 5 – Place the stewed apples and currants into the pie dish and bake for 40 minutes at 180 degrees Celsius.

Step 6 – In a saucepan add the sugar, milk and previously used cinnamon scrolls together. Bring to a boil until the sugar is melted. Let it cool and add the brandy and vanilla essence.

Step 7 – As soon as the warm apple pie comes out of the oven pour the sauce over the hot pie.