Cumberland Apple Plate Cake is a traditional English recipe (from Cumberland) for a classic plate pie of apples that are sweetened with pastry and baked in a rich shortcrust pasty case. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic English version of: Cumberland Apple Plate Cake.
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Ingredients:
350g plain flour
pinch of salt
50g caster sugar
175g butter, cubed
2 large eggs, beaten
3 large cooking apples (about 800g)
3 large dessert (eating) apples (Cox's are good), about 500g
15g plain flour
200g light muscovado sugar
finely-grated zest of 1 lemon
juice of 1 lemon
Method:
For the pastry, sift together the flour, salt and caster sugar into a bowl. Add the butter and rub in with your fingertips until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Form a well in the centre and add the beaten eggs. Mix with a round-bladed knife for form a soft dough.
Turn this dough onto a lightly-floured work surface and knead gently until smooth. Form into a ball, wrap in clingfilm and chill in the refrigerator as you prepare the filling.
Peel and core all the apples then quarter them before slicing thinly into a large bowl. Scatter over the 15g flour then mix in the brown sugar, lemon zest and lemon juice and gently mix together.
Place a large baking tray in the centre of your oven and pre-heat the oven to 220°C. Remove the pastry from the refrigerator, divide in half and roll the first half out on a lightly-floured work surface until large enough to cover the base and sides of a 25cm diameter ovenproof plate with raised edges. Use the pastry to line this.
Spoon the prepared apple mixture into the plate (pile it quite high). Roll out the remaining pastry into a circle large enough to cover the pie. Brush the edges of the pastry with water then cover the pie with pastry.
Press the pastry edges firmly together to seal then trim off he excess and decorate the edge by pinching the pastry with your thumb and forefinger. Make a small steam hole in the centre of the pie with a skewer.
Knead and roll the pastry trimmings and use these to fashion leaves and other decorative items to decorate the cake in an overlapping pattern just above the pinched edge of the pie.
Place the pie on top of the hot baking tray then place in the oven and bake for 30 minutes before reducing the oven temperature to 190°C. Continue cooking for about 30 minutes more, or until the apples are cooked (test with a skewer inserted through the hole in the top of the pie) and the pastry is golden brown.
If the pie is browning too quickly cover the top with kitchen foil.
Serve hot, accompanied by rum butter, whipped cream or ice cream.
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