2014 Great BC Bake-Off: Winning Pie Recipes

September 23, 2014

Adding a sweet public participation component to 2014 BBQ Off the Bypass Event event was the fifth annual Great BC Bake-Off, an amateur baking competition hosted by Well Seasoned. In the Great BC Bake-Off there were three categories:

1. Fruit Pie: winner, Gloria, for her big apple pie
2. Anything Pie: winner, Dan, for his Caribbean meat pie
3. Butter Tart (because we’re Canadian, eh?): winner, Yolanda

We were lucky enough to have Gloria share her recipe with us (lucky you!):

Gloria’s Deep Dish Apple Pie with a Tahitian Twist

Pre-Baking notes;

• Prepare a double pie crust recipe first and refrigerate at least 1 hour
• Important to use an apple cutter for slicing the apples so all of the slices are the same size for even baking
• Preheat oven to 500 degrees, the manipulation of the heat is the key to a successful crust. Once the pie is in the oven, turn the temperature down to 425 bake for 25 minutes and then turn down to 375 for the last 30-35 minutes.
• You must put a cookie sheet in the preheated oven, place the pie on top of the sheet pan to ensure the crust is cooked.
• Place 14 tbsp. butter or 6 tbsp. Crisco in the freezer for 1 hour prior to baking

Recipe for Double Pie Crust

• 2 ½ cups flour plus extra for rolling the dough
• 1 ½ tbsp. sugar
• 1 tsp. salt
• 14 tbsp. unsalted butter
• 6 tbsp. Crisco shortening
• ½ – ¾ cup ice cold water

1. In a large bowl, sift the flour, sugar and salt. Mix
2. Remove butter and shortening from the freezer and slice them into small cubes. Add them to the flour mixture.
3. Cut the frozen fat into the flour with a pastry blender until the size of a pea. Slowly add the ice water and using a fork, lightly the mix the flour mixture until small balls form.
4. Using your hands, gather the mixture together forming a ball. No over mixing! Lift ball out of the bowl onto a work surface. Cut the dough in half, form a disk and refrigerate for atleast 1 hour.
5. Prepare your apples while the dough is cooling and resting.

Apple Mixture

• 5-6 Spartan apples (you can substitute Macintosh)
• 2 granny smith apples
• 1 tbsp. Knorr original gelatin
• 1 ½ tbsp. apple juice
• 2 tbsp. corn starch
• 1 ½ tsp. vanilla pudding powder
• 1 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
• 1 tsp. lemon zest
• ¼ tsp. salt
• ¾ cup white sugar
• 1 tbsp. Madagascar Bourbon Tahitian vanilla
• 1 tbsp. turbinado sugar for the top of the pie crust
• 1 egg white, beaten for the top of the pie crust

1. Prepare apples, slicing with an apple cutter. Remove the core and slice each piece of apple in half lengthwise and then in half again, ensuring all of the pieces are cut evenly. Set aside.
2. In a mixing bowl. Mix the sugar, corn start, pudding powder and salt. Add the lemon zest.
3. In a separate bowl, mix the lemon juice and vanilla.
4. In another small bowl, mix the apple juice and the gelatin. Add to the lemon juice mixture.
5. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix. Pour over the apples and lightly mix.
6. Roll the 2 dough balls out separately, using a little extra flour. Place the rolled dough into a 9” pie plate. Add the apple mixture and carefully spread the apples out over the bottom crust.
7. Place the second sheet of dough on top of the apple mixture and seal the sides by pinching them together or using the tines of a fork.
8. Cut a couple of small vents into the top crust to allow the steam to escape. Brush with the egg white, and sprinkle on the turbinado sugar. Bake in a pre-heated 500 degree oven as outlined above, reducing heat to 425 for 25 minutes and then to 375 for 30-35 minutes.

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