Apple and Custard Fry Pies

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 box Carême Sour Cream Shortcrust Pastry, defrosted

• 1 egg white, lightly beaten with a fork 

• 1.5 litres canola oil, for frying

• Icing sugar, to dust

 For the apple filling:

• Juice of 1/2 small lemon, approximately 25ml

• 2 medium granny smith apples

• 25g caster sugar

• 25ml water

• 1/3 tsp ground cardamom

• 5g cornflour, approximately 1 heaped teaspoon

METHOD:

1. Tip the lemon juice, caster sugar, water, cornflour and cardamom into a medium pan, whisk to combine and set aside

2. Peel and cut the apples into 1cm cubes, add to the pan, tossing in the liquid as you go. I find it easiest to first cut the cheeks, then the 2 side pieces from the apple, and proceed with dicing.

3. Place the pan over a medium/high heat, and stirring continuously, bring to a boil. It will look a bit odd as it thickens, the cornflour turns transparent as it cooks, keep stirring until a smooth, even consistency, should take 3 to 4 minutes at most. 

4. Pop the lid on, reduce the heat to medium, and cook for 3 minutes, stirring a couple of times to make sure nothing sticks

5. Remove from the heat, allow to cool, then store covered in the fridge until you are ready to fill your pies

For the custard

• 170ml milk

• 2 egg yolks

• 40g caster sugar

• 15g cornflour

• Seeds from ½ vanilla bean or ¾ tsp vanilla paste

• 15g butter

METHOD:

1. In a small pan, over medium heat, bring the milk to just below boiling, you’ll see little lines form on the surface

2. Meanwhile, whisk together the egg yolks, sugar, cornflour and vanilla; set the bowl on a damp cloth to stop it dancing around, and gradually add the hot milk, whisking enthusiastically

3. Tip the custard back into the pan, and with the heat on low, whisk continuously. The custard will thicken quickly, once it starts to bubble, whisk for another minute then take off the heat. Add the butter, whisking until smooth

4. Push the custard through a sieve into a small bowl, press plastic wrap onto the surface of the custard, place in the fridge to cool

Construction!

Before you start to build the pies, tip the oil into a large saucepan, place on medium heat, it should reach 190ºC by the time the pies are ready to go. If you don’t have a thermometer, drop a cube of bread into the oil, the oil should bubble steadily around the bread, turning it golden. Turn the heat down if the oil bubbles vigorously, leave for a couple of minutes, then test again. Conversely, if the oil does not bubble steadily around the bread, increase the heat, testing again after a couple of minutes.

1. Carefully unroll the pastry sheet, leaving it on the plastic, this will make it easy to manoeuvre as you form the pies. Cut the pastry in half horizontally along the long side, then in quarters vertically, to give you 8 squares

2. Give the custard a quick whisk to loosen, then put a heaped teaspoon in the centre of each pastry square, spread a little, and top with a heaped teaspoon of apple; make sure you leave a 1 cm border clear of filling

3. Brush the border along 2 sides with egg white, make sure a wet edge meets a dry edge when you fold the pastry in the next step

4. Fold the pastry over the filling to form a triangle, gently push out the air as you go, then press the edges together. Dip a fork in egg white and press along the joined edges to seal, take care not to press too hard, you want to seal the edges, not cut through them

5. Fry the pies two at a time, carefully slip the pies into the oil, fry for 2-3 minutes each side until blistered and golden. Remove from the oil, place on a wire rack over a tray to cool slightly, don’t place on kitchen towel as they will lose their crispness. Continue until all pies are cooked, you may have to adjust the heat from time to time to keep it as close to 190ºC as you can

6. Dust with icing sugar and serve, take care with the first bite, the filling gets super hot! Pies are best eaten fresh from the fryer, while crisp and warm.

Makes: 8 Pies

Sally aka Simmer and Boyle is a recipe developer, food stylist, photographer, and somewhat infrequent blogger. Originally from the UK, she now lives in Sydney with her family, her beautiful wheaten terrier, and far too many houseplants! Sally loves to cook and share images of her efforts on Instagram @simmerandboyle and recipes on her blog at www.simmerandboyle.com, be prepared for cake, there’s lots of cake…