Sweeten up your life...

My skin is losing elasticity, my eyes are no longer sharp as they used to be a couple of years back, my belly is always bloated, memory is absolutely unreliable and the hair on my head (whats left of it anyway) is turning grey. All the signs are actually making me quite believe that I am getting old.

My official age might be 33 right now but its certainly very frustrating to see yourself in the mirror every morning and find new things in there that need to be fixed. A little uplifting here - a little cut down there!

But if there is something that makes me feel good and absolutely young about myself, those are my taste buds. I am sure, they work perfect, and are absolutely efficient and expedient (as always) in categorising stuffs that I offer them into edible or avoidable groups in fraction of seconds. Test them with a delicious treat and I bet theyll dance and sing to celebrate the real flavours with the same excitment as they had always used to!!! And since theyve always been so loyal and helpful to me, I also try my best to make sure that they get their deserved rhythms and ambience to enjoy the sensations to the fullest.

When talking about taste buds, I actually have great affection for all the flavours but it is meanwhile no longer a secret which one of the four taste receptors is my favourite. When I think of making something, 99 percent of the time, it has to be sweet. No wonder, where these extra pounds on the frame are coming from!!!! But seriously people, I dont know how could someone feel happy about life without having sweets and confectioneries in it. And these words are coming from a dessert fanatic who has a family history of diabetes!

Apple Pie


Ingredients:

300 +75g plain, all purpose flour
300g of cold butter, cut in cubes
1 1/2 tablespoon of sugar
1/2 tsp of salt
12 tbs of ice water

For the filling:
5-6 green apples like Granny Smith (see tips below)
100 g brown sugar (see tips)
100 g white sugar (see tips)
1/2 tsp lemon juice
Pinch of salt
2 tbs plain flour
1/2 tsp (or a little less) cinnamon powder , optional
2 tbs honey

Glaze:
3 tbs apricot jam
1 tsp water


Mix  300g flour, sugar, cold butter and salt in a bowl using your finger tips until it resembles breadcrumbs. You can also do this in a food processor or using the electric mixer with the dough hooks on.

Gradually mix in ice water.

Dust the kitchen counter with the remaining 75 g of flour and transfer the dough onto it. Knead gently until all flour is used up. Tip: Keep flouring the surface to avoid sticking.

Make a ball. Your dough should look more or less like this when it is done.

Wrap with cling film and put into the refrigerator for atleast an hour. Meanwhile make the filling.

Wash the apples. Peel, core, slice and transfer into a cooking pan. Add in the sugars, cinnamon, flour, lemon juice and salt.

Tip: Granny Smith apples that we get here in Germany are too sour, this is the reason why Ive used this much amount of sugar. In case you are using apples that are already sweet in taste, reduce it to 65 g each.

Cook on medium heat with the lid on, until the water is nearly evaporated and the left over juices start to thicken. Add in honey.

Cook further and turn the heat on high. The juices will thicken and start to coat around the apples. Tip: You may use cornflour instead of plain flour. Itll do the same job.

Remove the dough from the refrigerator. Cut into two halves.

Cover one half and put back into the fridge. Roll out the other one with a rolling pin. Tip: Make sure your rolling pin and the counter are dusted with flour to avoid unnecessary effort. Also, the diameter of the dough should be at least 4cm bigger than your pie pan so that it will cover the side walls.

Transfer the dough into the pan. Ive lined it with baking paper to ensure an easy removing later. Tip: Best way to transfer the dough is to place the rolling pin at one edge of the dough and then roll it over.

 Place the rolled dough onto the pie pan and unroll the pin immediately. Adjust (dont stretch) it in the pan and trim off the excess edges.

 

Poke a few holes on the bottom to let steam out while baking and put the prepared filling on it.

Roll out the other pastry half. And cut into strips (about 2cm).

Cover the pie with these strips making a lattice pattern.

Brush with egg yolk. This will give the top a nice golden colour after baking. Bake in the preheated oven at 200 C for an hour or until golden and done.

Remove from oven and allow to cool for a while. Mix the apricot jam with water, and cook for a few minutes. Brush the pie top with this glaze. Itll give a nice shine, and will add a professional finish to your pie.

Serve warm (try with vanilla ice cream) or cold!

This ones for our new next door neighbours -  a small "Hi! We are new here, nice to meet you" gesture!

Love