Use any variety of apple you enjoy. I like Fuji apples which are sweet so I can use less sugar.
Ingredients
6 large sized apples, washed, peeled, sliced 1/2” thick
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup whisky
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon golden raisins
2 tablespoons roughly chopped raw almonds
5 large pieces crystallized ginger
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 sticks unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
2 tablespoons heavy cream
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
3 teaspoons raw sugar
1-2 tablespoons ice water
Method
Make the pastry first. Hand chop the crystallized ginger as fine as possible. Put the flour, butter, sea salt, 2 teaspoons of raw sugar, and the crystallized ginger into a food processor and pulse until well-blended.
While the food processor is running, slowly add the cream and then a little water at a time until the dough forms a ball.
Sprinkle flour onto a cutting board. Remove the ball of dough, divide into two pieces, put onto the flour and flatten into two 6” disks. Wrap each disk separately in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 60 minutes. Just before you are going to roll out the pastry, remove the disks from the refrigerator and allow to soften for five minutes.
On the floured cutting board, remove one disk from the plastic wrap and roll out the dough so it covers a 9” pie dish.
Gently lay the dough over the pie dish and press down to fit.
Trim the excess dough off the edge with a sharp paring knife.
Make a dozen holes in the bottom of the dough. Weigh down the dough with ceramic pastry balls, uncooked rice, or beans and bake 15 minutes in a preheated 375 F oven.
Remove. Let cool on a wire rack. Remove the weights.
Roast the chopped almonds on a piece of aluminum foil in the 375 F oven for 5 minutes and remove.
For the filling, put the whisky, lemon juice, raisins, and brown sugar in a large mixing bowl. Toss the apple slices in the mixture so the apples don’t discolor. Let sit 15 minutes.
Spoon the apples, raisins and almonds into the prebaked crust. Pour 2 tablespoons of the liquid on the apples. Reserve the rest of the liquid.
Roll out the top crust on the floured cutting board as before. Lay the pastry on top of the pie.
Trim away the excess. Use a fork to press together the edges of the top and bottom crusts. The tines will make a nice design along the edge.
Use a paring knife to poke half a dozen slits in the top pastry to allow steam to escape.
Bake in a preheated 375°F oven 30 minutes.
Place the reserved whisky-brown sugar liquid in a small saucepan. Reduce to one quarter the volume over low heat, stirring frequently.
Remove the pie from the oven. Brush the whisky syrup on top of the pie and dust with a sprinkling of raw sugar.
Return to the oven for an additional 25-35 minutes or until the crust is nicely browned. Remove from the oven, place on a wire rack and let cool.
Serve warm with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.
- Recipe courtesy of David Latt