Wensleydale Apple Pie Recipes

BRAMLEY APPLE AND WENSLEYDALE COBBLER

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 220C/Gas 7/fan oven 200C. Put the flour, baking powder and salt into a food processor. Whizz for a few seconds, then add the butter and whizz until the mixture looks like coarse breadcrumbs. Tip in 100g/4oz of the wensleydale and briefly pulse to combine, then pour in the buttermilk and whizz until the mixture has formed a soft, claggy dough. Remove the blade, leaving the dough in the bowl.
• Quarter the Bramley apples, then remove the core and peel each wedge. Depending on how quickly you work, drop the peeled apples into a bowl of cold water acidulated with the juice of a lemon, to stop them going brown; drain and dry the apples before proceeding with the recipe.
• Butter a 1.2 litre/2 pint ovenproof dish that's about 23-25cm/9-10in in diameter and 6-7.5cm/21⁄2-3in deep. Thickly slice the quartered apples and pile them into the dish. The apples collapse when they are cooked, so if there isn't a good mound, add some more. Combine the sugars and ginger, and dredge the apples evenly. (I like to use two sugars: the muscovado has a bullish toffee flavour and the refined is just sweet, sweet, sweet.)
• Using your fingers, plop 5 tangerinesized balls of dough on top of the apples in a circle, plus one in the middle: they'll look untidy but that's okay. Carefully sprinkle the remaining cheese over the cobbler scones. Bake for 15 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 190C/Gas 5/fan oven 170C and continue baking for 20 minutes until the apples are tender and the cobbler is beautifully brown. Serve with a generous dollop of mascarpone.

WENSLEYDALE APPLE PIE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350f/180c/gas mark 4.
• Sift flour and salt into a large bowl and add the butter and lard, cut into cubes.
• Work the butter and lard into the pastry until you have a fine breadcrumb consistancy. Add enough cold water to be able to work the mixture into a ball - make sure you add a little dribble at a time, you don't want it too wet! Once you have a ball, put the bowl into the fridge.
• Peel the apples, cut into thick slices and put in a pan. Cover with 2 tablespoons of cold water and cook until the apple slices are softened, but still retain their shape.
• Remove apples from heat and strain liquid off. Sprinkle with the sugar and leave to cool.
• Whilst the apples cool, grease a pie tin and flour a surface. Divide the dough in half and roll to a large enough size to do a top and bottom crust for your pie tin. This is very short pastry (it will cook very soft and buttery!) so try not to over-roll or you'll find it breaking up.
• Line the pie tin with one of your pastry circles and spoon half of the cooled apple slices inches Even out and layer the cheese slices on top. Then arrange the last half of your apple slices on top of the cheese.
• Dampen the edges of the bottom crust with water and lay the top crust on top. Press round the edges to seal with the ball of your thumb or the back of a fork. Brush the top of the pie with milk and sprinkle with sugar. Then cut a couple of small vents in the middle to allow steam to escape.
• Place in the middle of the oven and cook for approx 35 minutes, or until golden brown. If it's browning too quickly for you, either move the pie down a shelf or turn the oven down a little.
• This is best served hot and goes beautifully with double (heavy) cream, vanilla or cinnamon icecream.