To make pies of green apples is a traditional Elizabethan recipe for a classic pie of apples with sugar, ginger and cinnamon baked in a hot water pastry made with butter that is a version of the classic Warden (pear) pies of the Elizabethan age. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic Elizabethan version of: To make pies of green apples.
To make Pyes of grene apples.
TAke your apples and pare them cleane and core them as ye wyll a Quince , then make youre coffyn after this namer , take a lyttle fayre water adn halfe a dyſhe of butter nad a lyttle Saffron, and ſette all this vpon a chafyngdyſhe tyll it be hoate, then temper your flower with this ſayd licour, and the whyte of two egges, and alſo make your cofyn, and ceaſon your apples with Sinemone, Gynger and Suger ynoughe. Then pute them into your coffin and laye halfe a dyſhe of butter aboue them, and ſo cloſe your coffin, and ſo bake them.
Modern Redaction
Essentially this is an apple pie made with unripe apples baked in a hot water crust made with butter rather than lard. Eliza Acton in her 1845 book has a recipe for a very similar pastry, showing just how well this recipe has stood the test of time. It is also a variant of the Warden pies of the same period made with a classic lard-based hot water crust filled with warden pears.
Ingredients:
450g plain flour
200ml water
150g butter
2 egg whites
500g unripe apples (or use Bramley apples), peeled and cored
200g demerara sugar
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 egg whisked in 2 tbsp water to glaze
Method:
Sift the flour into a bowl and set aside. Combine the water and butter in a saucepan and heat until just melted.
Work the egg whites into the flour then form a well and pour in the water and butter mixture. Mix with a spoon until just incorporated then turn out onto a floured work surface and knead briefly. Bring the mixture together as a ball then cover with clingfilm (plastic wrap) and set aside until cold enough to roll out.
Cut 2/3 of the dough off and roll into a round about 1cm thick. Place a large, floured, jar in the centre and shape the pastry around this. Leave for 5 minutes until set then ease the dough away from the mould.
Meanwhile, cut the apples into chunks and mix these with the sugar, ginger and cinnamon then spoon the mixture into the formed dough. Roll the remainder of the dough out to form a lid and fix this to the base with a little water. Trim any excess pastry neatly and pierce an air hole in the top. Transfer to a greased baking sheet and glaze with the beaten egg and water mix.
Place in an oven pre-heated to 200°C and bake for 30 minutes, or until the pastry is golden and crisp. This can be served either hot or cold.
