⚈ Ingredients
800 gm royal gala apples, finely chopped
600 gm Granny Smith apples, finely chopped
5 buerre Bosc pears, finely chopped
200 gm raw caster sugar
1 lemon, juice only
2 vanilla beans, scraped seeds only
35 gm (¼ cup) plain flour
1 egg, lightly beaten, for eggwash
Brown butter ice-cream
200 gm cold butter, chopped
500 ml (2 cups) milk
250 ml (1 cup) pouring cream
8 egg yolks
140 gm raw caster sugar
Shortcrust pastry
600 gm plain flour
450 gm cold butter, coarsely chopped
Crisp sage
80 gm cold butter, coarsely chopped
24 sage leaves
⚈ Method
Serves 6
Prep time 30 mins, cook 45 mins (plus cooling, chilling, freezing)
It's a good idea to use two kinds of apple with the pear in this pie recipe because Granny Smiths can be too tart on their own.
For brown butter ice-cream, heat a saucepan over high heat, add butter and cook until brown and foaming (4-6 minutes), transfer to a heatproof bowl and stand at room temperature until cool (20-30 minutes). Combine milk and half the cream in a large saucepan, bring to the boil. Meanwhile, whisk yolks and sugar in an electric mixer until pale and fluffy (2-4 minutes), add brown butter, whisk to combine, then gradually pour in hot milk mixture, stirring to combine. Return mixture to pan, stir continuously over low-medium heat until mixture thickly coats the back of a wooden spoon (8-10 minutes). Pour into a heatproof bowl placed over ice, add remaining cream, stir occasionally until chilled (30-40 minutes), then freeze in an ice-cream machine according to manufacturer's instructions.
For shortcrust pastry, process flour and butter in a food processor until fine crumbs form, add 120ml cold water, process until dough comes together, then turn onto a lightly floured work surface and lightly knead into a disc. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate until chilled (1 hour).
Meanwhile, combine apples and pear in a bowl with sugar, lemon juice and vanilla seeds. Stand until sugar dissolves, add flour, toss to combine. Refrigerate until required.
Preheat oven to 200C. Divide pastry into 12 pieces, roll to 4mm-thick rounds and use half to line six 375ml-capacity ovenproof moulds (see note). Brush inside and edges of pastry with eggwash, divide apple filling among moulds, top with remaining rounds. Trim edges to fit, make indents with fingers to seal edges. Refrigerate pies until chilled (1 hour), transfer to a baking tray, bake until golden and heated through (20-25 minutes).
Meanwhile, for crisp sage, heat a saucepan over high heat, add butter and cook until foaming (5-10 minutes), then add sage leaves and cook until crisp (1 minute).
Serve pies with brown butter ice-cream and crisp sage.
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