The pie filling in it's sweet & tangy sauce - before it has been baked
The completed pie, just before being baked 
"Anyone Can Bake" - book dating back to 1929 & which used to belong to my GrandmotherI don’t often make Apple Pie as crumble is so much easier (you don’t have to make pastry, for a start !) but when I do make one, I take my time over it & make a decent pastry for it from scratch.
I inherited a cookbook from my Transkei born Grandmother called “Any One Can Bake” which was published in New York in 1929. The inscription inside – in her handwriting – is 1939, when she first acquired the book in Zambia (then Northern Rhodesia). The pages are old and yellow, the blue cloth binding a bit tattered but the recipes it contains are timeless, and all are accompanied by unique hand drawn and painted/coloured illustrations.
I have copied many of my favourite and often used recipes from the book into another recipe file, as I try to handle the book as little as possible as it is so old and fragile. The pastry recipe for my Apple & Strawberry pie comes from this book, although I have adapted it & made it into a sweet pastry for this recipe (the original recipe is for a savoury pastry).
The filling is my own invention – chunks of apples and fresh strawberries suspended in a gooey, syrupy sauce which has a sweet flavour with a slight lemon tang which I think works really well with these two kinds of fruit. If you eat the pie cold the following day, the sauce sort-of sets & is even more tasty !
Apple & Strawberry Pie (pastry recipe adapted from “Anyone Can Bake”, compiled by the Educational Department of “Standard Brands Incorporated” 1929)
Pie Filling :
1 ½ cups Water
4 tbsp brown Sugar
2 tbsp Cornflour (Cornstarch)
¾ to 1 tsp ground Cinnamon (to taste)
pinch of Salt
3 tbsp Lemon juice
1 x tin of Unsweetened Pie Apples
+- 1 cup of fresh Strawberries, chopped
Bring the water to the boil. In a small saucepan mix together the sugar, cornflour, cinnamon & salt with a tablespoon or two of cold water to form a smooth paste. Once the water is boiling, pour it into the saucepan containing the cornflour paste mixture, and bring to the boil on a low heat, stirring to prevent lumps from forming. Add the lemon juice, stir again & allow to gently simmer for around 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and add the apples & strawberries, stirring to blend.
Pie Crust:
3 cups Flour
4 tbsp Caster Sugar (fine sugar)
1 tsp Baking Powder
½ tsp Salt
1 cup Margarine (or Butter)
½ cup boiling Water
1 Egg, beaten (for glazing the pie crust)
Sift the dry ingredients together. Rub the margarine in until well mixed but not too fine. Add enough boiling water to make a stiff paste. Divide the pastry into 2 & roll each piece out thinly on a floured surface, to fit the baking dish you are using (I use a 30 cm round pie dish).
To assemble the pie:
Place one piece of the thinly rolled pastry into the bottom of a lightly greased pie dish. Press it against the dish so that it fits well. Now pour the apple/strawberry mixture into this. If you find that there is too much liquid, remove a few tablespoons of it. Now place the second piece of thinly rolled pastry on top of the fruit filling. Press around the edges with your fingers to seal them. Using a sharo knife, make small slits in the top of the pastry (this allows steam & juices to escape during cooking) and brush with the beaten egg. Bake at 190’C/375’F/ Gas Mark 5 for approximately 30 minutes until done.
This pie is great served with hot custard or whipped cream.
I inherited a cookbook from my Transkei born Grandmother called “Any One Can Bake” which was published in New York in 1929. The inscription inside – in her handwriting – is 1939, when she first acquired the book in Zambia (then Northern Rhodesia). The pages are old and yellow, the blue cloth binding a bit tattered but the recipes it contains are timeless, and all are accompanied by unique hand drawn and painted/coloured illustrations.
I have copied many of my favourite and often used recipes from the book into another recipe file, as I try to handle the book as little as possible as it is so old and fragile. The pastry recipe for my Apple & Strawberry pie comes from this book, although I have adapted it & made it into a sweet pastry for this recipe (the original recipe is for a savoury pastry).
The filling is my own invention – chunks of apples and fresh strawberries suspended in a gooey, syrupy sauce which has a sweet flavour with a slight lemon tang which I think works really well with these two kinds of fruit. If you eat the pie cold the following day, the sauce sort-of sets & is even more tasty !
Apple & Strawberry Pie (pastry recipe adapted from “Anyone Can Bake”, compiled by the Educational Department of “Standard Brands Incorporated” 1929)
Pie Filling :
1 ½ cups Water
4 tbsp brown Sugar
2 tbsp Cornflour (Cornstarch)
¾ to 1 tsp ground Cinnamon (to taste)
pinch of Salt
3 tbsp Lemon juice
1 x tin of Unsweetened Pie Apples
+- 1 cup of fresh Strawberries, chopped
Bring the water to the boil. In a small saucepan mix together the sugar, cornflour, cinnamon & salt with a tablespoon or two of cold water to form a smooth paste. Once the water is boiling, pour it into the saucepan containing the cornflour paste mixture, and bring to the boil on a low heat, stirring to prevent lumps from forming. Add the lemon juice, stir again & allow to gently simmer for around 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and add the apples & strawberries, stirring to blend.
Pie Crust:
3 cups Flour
4 tbsp Caster Sugar (fine sugar)
1 tsp Baking Powder
½ tsp Salt
1 cup Margarine (or Butter)
½ cup boiling Water
1 Egg, beaten (for glazing the pie crust)
Sift the dry ingredients together. Rub the margarine in until well mixed but not too fine. Add enough boiling water to make a stiff paste. Divide the pastry into 2 & roll each piece out thinly on a floured surface, to fit the baking dish you are using (I use a 30 cm round pie dish).
To assemble the pie:
Place one piece of the thinly rolled pastry into the bottom of a lightly greased pie dish. Press it against the dish so that it fits well. Now pour the apple/strawberry mixture into this. If you find that there is too much liquid, remove a few tablespoons of it. Now place the second piece of thinly rolled pastry on top of the fruit filling. Press around the edges with your fingers to seal them. Using a sharo knife, make small slits in the top of the pastry (this allows steam & juices to escape during cooking) and brush with the beaten egg. Bake at 190’C/375’F/ Gas Mark 5 for approximately 30 minutes until done.
This pie is great served with hot custard or whipped cream.
