Ministry of Baking’s Spiced Apple Pie recipe

Tin: this recipe uses a 20 cm (8 inch) round metal pie tin.

Pastry ingredients

400g plain flour (plus a bit extra for rolling)

2 tbsp caster sugar

250g cold unsalted butter, cubed

2 medium eggs (1 for glazing)

Filling ingredients

600g Bramley apples*, peeled, cored & cut into medium slices

150g caster sugar (plus a bit extra for sprinkling)

1 tsp Ministry of Baking Apple Pie Spice Blend

2 tbsp cornflour

*if using other sweeter apple varieties, lessen the amount of sugar in the filling to taste

Method

1. Sift the flour into a mixing bowl. Rub in the butter until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Add the sugar.  

2. Beat one egg and stir it in.  Add small amounts of cold water (up to 2 tbsp, just enough to combine) until it forms a dough.

3. Roll out approx two thirds of the pastry on a floured surface until it’s the thickness of a pound coin and slightly bigger than your pie dish. 

4. Lower the pastry into the dish carefully and press it firmly into the base and sides of the dish. Chill the pastry-filled dish in the fridge.

5. Preheat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan/Gas 6.

6. Mix the sugar, spice blend and cornflour in a large bowl. Add the apple slices and ensure they’re evenly coated in the dry mix.

7. Pour the apple filling into the pie dish. Beat the other egg and use a pastry brush to coat the edge of the pastry.

8. Roll out the remaining third of the pastry to make the lid. Carefully add the lid and use a fork to press all around the edges to bind the lid to the base pastry.

9. Use a sharp knife to trim any excess pastry and cut a few small holes in the middle of the pie top. Glaze the top using more of the beaten egg.

10. Use any leftover pastry to make shapes of your choice to decorate the top. (Glaze with more egg once finished.)

11. Sprinkle sugar over the top and bake in the centre of the oven for 45-55 minutes or until the pastry is golden brown.

12. Enjoy!

Equipment: this recipe uses a 20 cm (8 inch) round metal pie tin. 

Pastry ingredients

250g plain flour (plus a bit extra for rolling)

2 tbsp soft light/dark brown sugar

150g cold unsalted butter, cubed

2 large egg yolks

2-3 tbsp cold water

pinch salt

Filling ingredients

425g tin 100% pumpkin purée

3 large eggs

125g soft light/dark brown sugar

1 tbsp cornstarch

2 tbsp maple syrup

150ml double cream

1 tsp Ministry of Baking Pumpkin Pie Spice Blend

pinch salt

Method

1. Sift the flour into a large mixing bowl and add the salt.  Rub in the butter until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Add the sugar and mix.

2. Add the egg yolks and mix. Add small amounts of cold water (up to 3 tbsp, just enough to combine) until it forms a dough.

3. Gently knead very briefly, flatten into a disc and chill for a couple of hours.

4. Sprinkle the work surface with flour. Set aside roughly ¼ of the dough for later. Roll out the rest of the dough to around 2-3mm thick and line your pie tin.

5. Use a sharp knife to trim any excess, prick the base with a fork, chill for 30 mins.

6. Preheat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan/Gas 4. Roll out the saved ¼ of dough and cut into any shapes you like, to be added as decorations later. Chill these while you blind bake the pastry case.

7. Line the pastry case with foil or parchment paper and fill with baking beans or rice and bake for 20 minutes (or just as the edges start to turn golden brown). Remove the lining and baking beans and bake for another 5 minutes.

8. Meanwhile, prepare the filling.  Combine all the filling ingredients and whisk until smooth.

9. Carefully pour the pumpkin mixture into the pastry case and bake for 25-30 minutes, until the filling is just set with a slight wobble in the middle. Leave to cool.

10. Brush the top of the cut out pastry decorations with milk and sprinkle with caster sugar.  Bake until golden brown, then arrange on top of your baked pumpkin pie to finish.

11. Serve with whipped cream and a little sprinkling of extra Pumpkin Pie Spice Blend. Enjoy!

Ingredients

200g soft light brown sugar

40g black treacle

40g golden syrup

35g Ministry of Baking Gingerbread Spice Blend

50ml cold water

200g unsalted butter, cubed

550g plain flour (plus extra for dusting)

1 tsp table salt

Method

1. Pre-heat your oven to 180°C/160°C fan/gas mark 6.

2. Place the sugar, treacle, syrup, spices and water in a saucepan on a medium heat, stirring occasionally, until all the sugar has dissolved and it’s just starting to bubble.

3. Turn the heat off and gradually add the cubed butter, stirring continuously until it’s all melted in to form a glossy mixture.

4. Pour hot mix into a stand mixer (if you have one, otherwise use a large mixing bowl and wooden spoon), set to the slowest speed and gradually add the plain flour and salt until it forms a warm dough.

5. Tip out onto a clean work surface. Divide the dough in half and wrap each half in cling film. Place in the fridge to chill for around 30 minutes.

6. While your dough is resting, cut out your templates from the printed template sheets.

7. Remove your chilled dough and roll out directly onto a sheet of baking parchment, using a dusting of flour to prevent the rolling pin from sticking. You’re aiming for a thickness of around 4-5mm.

8. Roll out both halves of dough and then cut around your templates, leaving a gap of around 1cm between pieces. Be sure to note how many of each piece you need to cut out (written on each template).

9. Carefully remove the excess dough from between the pieces. Gather this together and re-roll it. Use this to cut out your remaining template pieces or just make some extra gingerbread biscuits (using cutters or freehand shapes) to go with your construction.

10. Carefully slide your baking parchment sheets of cut pieces onto baking trays and place in the oven from 13-18 minutes, until they’re just starting to go slightly darker around the edge.

11. Leave to cool on the trays - the pieces should be completely firm once cool. If they’re soft, re-bake them for 5 minutes to make sure they’re construction strength.

TOP TIP! The construction pieces can be made in advance and kept until you’re ready to build. If you want to store them for up to a week, just place them in an airtight tub or tin. If you want to keep them for even longer, wrap them in cling film and place in the freezer - to defrost, unwrap and spread the biscuits out on cooling racks until they’re back up to room temperature.