Did I ever write about these little apple pies? I believe not.
I found the recipe in this book by Pippa Middleton, our future king's sister in law.
(I found the book in a charity shop for £1.)
It's a nice book, with lots of lovely ideas for entertaining. I thought these little apple pies (called "mini apple pies in pots") would be perfect for an "informal event". The recipe appears in a couple of places online if you're intrigued.
I used ready made, ready rolled, sweet pastry and filled them with this apple compote, the kind that has lumps of apple in it. I added some cinnamon and lemon zest and baked them in a tart tin rather than little pots or ramekins.
My lattice work was not too bad, could have been tidier!
They looked ok and smelled wonderful.
However, they were not fit for purpose!
I made them the day before my "informal event" and we had a couple, just to taste and check they were as yummy as they looked. They were!
Unfortunately, within hours of being baked the pastry was completely soft and soggy so there was no way they could be handed around the bonfire as per the suggestion in the recipe! We still enjoyed them, even though they fell apart, with custard! It's not a recipe idea I would use again.
Anyway, things are a little busy just now. We are fully occupied with organising Dad's care and dealing with his various problems so baking is at a minimum.
The other thing is that I have been busy helping with a wedding this weekend. For that I will be baking two cakes tomorrow so there will hopefully be something to blog about!
It's a shame that the pastry gets so soggy because it would be a useful little recipe for parties (sorry, I mean work meetings, obviously) and other festive occasions. I think the lattice work looks just fine and definitely better than anything I produce these days. For some reason it did remind me of the lattice cutting gadgets that were around in the 1980s when lattice tart tops were absolutely the thing to do. I came across one last year when clearing out the shed but. sadly, I've lost track of it again.
ReplyDeleteI thought it might be the very moist filling that made the pastry soggy, as my mince pies usually hold their shape. Then I wondered if it was because I used French sweet pastry (paté sablée) instead of ordinary shortcrust.
DeleteOn the other hand, it might be because I didn't follow the recipe at all, just used it for the basis of an idea..........oh well. Might try again !!
BTW, I remember owning one of those lattice pastry lid cutter things. A white disc with little squares cut out. I think I used it about twice before taking to the charity shop. I have no idea what you would do with it in the shed!
I'm impressed by your impossibly high standards - ie, witholding the apple pies from folk at the bonfire night just because they (the pies, not the folk) were soggy. Impressed too that the bonfire night was classed as an informal event. For us, now retreating into old age and a distinct lack of social amenities, it would have been the height of formality. Bow-ties essential. Also patent shoes (Remember them? You may be too young.)
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