Buckwheat Apple Pie

We all love apple pie! And I assume all of us have their favourite recipe we wouldn’t exchange for anything else in the world. The truth is we hate changes. But it often turns out the changes are good and necessary to discover something new and often better.

This apple pie is a case in point. It’s got crispy golden shortcrust pastry and fruity cinnamon scented apple filling. The substitution of buckwheat flour for the traditional wheat flower is genius and the taste is a real surprise. It gives the pastry a sweet, lightly nutty flavour and extra crispiness. I'm absolutely in love with that pastry!

Having said that, I know there are people who simply can’t put up with the flavour of buckwheat and they do feel the difference. If you’re one of those people, that’s fine. But if you haven’t tried baking shortcrust buckwheat pastry yet, do not hesitate to give it a go!

Ingredients:

For the crust:

• 3 cups buckwheat flour
• 3/4 cup unrefined demerara sugar or molasses (if you go for molasses, add a little bit less, e.g. a tablespoon less)
• 1 tablespoon homemade vanilla sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 250 g unsalted butter
• 4 eggs 

For the filling:

• 2 kg apples
• 3-4 tablespoons unrefined demerara sugar
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• a handful of ground almonds

Preparation:

The crust: 

1. Heat the oven to 175˚C/ 180˚C.
2. Place all the ingredients in a mixer bowl and mix until all they have combined well.
3. Wrap the pastry in cling film and refrigerate for an hour.
4. After this time, take it out from the fridge and divide into two pieces, one slightly bigger than the other.
5. Roll out the bigger piece and lay on a greased with butter or laid with greaseproof baking paper tray. Bake in the oven for about 15 minutes or until the pastry is lightly golden.
6. Take the pastry out and let it cool aside for 10 minutes. 

The filling: 

1. Peel and deseed the apples and cut them into thin slices or grate finely.
2. Add the sugar and the cinnamon and stir well.
3. Spread the ground almonds evenly on the shortcrust pastry. This will absorb the juice from the apples and prevent a slack-baked cake.
4. Lay out the apple mixture on the pastry evenly.
5. Roll out the smaller piece of pastry and cut into 1cm strips. Place them on the pie forming a checked pattern.
6. Place in the oven and bake for about 40 minutes or until the top is crispy and brown and the apples have cooked.
7. Switch off the oven and open the oven door slightly to let the pie cool down.
8. If preferred, sprinkle the apple pie with some icing sugar and serve. Enjoy!