Apploffi Pie!! & book review {Food Glorious Food}

Food Glorious Food…what an aptly named book and series that shows us the food of Great Britain! After catching the program on TV I was very excited when asked to review the book. I read it cover to cover the day it arrived and I loved seeing the recipes from the episodes I've watched. I am equally happy that some of the recipes that didn't make it did you see those sausages in milk, belch!

The book is nicely organized by area: southwest, southeast, northeast, northwest, London, and the Midlands. I love the mix of what I've come to know as traditional British classics and recipes from other parts of Europe. Here is a very shortened list of what I want to make from the book.

Somerset Chicken

Devon Apple Cider Cake (picture)

Spiced Lentil Vegetable Cakes

Apploffi Pie (picture & recipe below)

Mummy Pie

Chinese Style Yorkshire Puddings

Baked Trifle (picture)

Brussel Sprout, Chestnut, & Coconut Soup

Sticky Toffee Pudding

Lemon Crunch Cake (picture)

Baked Greek Macaroni

Double Chocolate Ganache Brownies (picture)

Ellie’s Rhubarb & Ginger Crumble Cheesecake

Wobbly Worcester Rarebit

Terry’s Staffordshire Oatcakes (picture)

Star Pimm's Fruit Jelly

Growing up I always enjoyed having dinner at friend’s houses because they all cooked different family favorites. So, thank you to everyone involved with Food Glorious Food for inviting me for dinner in kitchens across Great Britain!

Apploffi Pie (slightly adapted) was the one recipe that I kept thinking of after the book closed. Apploffi Pie is a twist on Banoffi Pie that was handed down to Kate McCully from her father. I love apples in baked goods!! Oh and I love the cinnamon in the whipped topping!! Gorgeous! I love cinnamon too! I love apples and cinnamon together! It makes sense!

There was a subtle change made and that was the orange juice. I have said before that my husband is allergic to all citrus so to make sure he could enjoy this dessert too I used apple juice instead. I also just used a 395g can of caramel instead of using 400-600g of condensed milk heated to caramel. You will need the caramel to make the pie, but just note it's not listed below.

for the pastry:

250g (8oz) plain flour, plus extra for dusting

25g (1oz) icing sugar

125g (4oz) cold butter, cubed

1 egg plus 1 egg yolk

To make the pastry: Mix flour and sugar together and then rub the butter in the mixture until it resembles breadcrumbs. Work in the egg and yolk to form a dough, then wrap in cling film and chill for 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/gas 4. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out the pastry to about the size of a 1 pound coin and line a 23cm (9in) loose-bottomed flan tin. I put my lined tin in the fridge for 15 minutes to help avoid shrinkage. Prick the base with a fork, and then line the pastry with crumbled grease-proof paper. Fill with baking beans or dried pulses/rice and bake for 15-20 minutes. Remove the grease-proof paper and whatever you used to blind bake with. Then return to the oven for another 5 minutes, until golden. Set aside to cool. Then while the pie crust is chilling and baking and cooling get on with...

...the apple filling and whipped cream topping

1 large Bramley apple, peeled, cored, and sliced

2 Cox’s apples, peeled, cored, and sliced

50ml (2fl oz) orange juice or apple juice

50g (2oz) light muscovado sugar

300-425ml (14 ½ fl oz) double (heavy) cream

25g (1oz) caster (superfine) sugar

½ tsp ground cinnamon

freshly grated nutmeg to top

Place the apples, juice, and sugar in a saucepan and heat gently until fruit is pulpy and quiet dry. Set aside until completely cold. Whip the cream with the caster sugar and cinnamon until it forms soft peaks. Now it’s time to assemble! Open the can(s) of condensed milk, which is now caramel, or open your cans of caramel and spread evenly over the cooled pastry case. Next spread the apples evenly on top and then spread over the whipped cream. Sprinkle the nutmeg over the cream and serve!

note: Food Glorious Food ITV and twitter; buy Amazon UK, for a free kindle sample check it out here & The Book People; check out this video if you want to make your own caramel.