There is nothing that can beat the comfort of a warm apple pie with a scoop of cold creamy vanilla ice cream. The crisp pie crust, the bite into warm apples steeped in brown sugar and cinnamon, the wonderful aromas that fill the house ..... what's not to love! So even though I live in always sunny, hot Singapore, once in a while I remind myself of the apple and cinnamon pleasures of life, be it apple crisp, apple charolette or everyone's favorite apple pie. The best way to enjoy an apple pie in hot-humid Singapore is to turn on the air conditioner a couple of degrees lower than the usual, warm the apple pie in the oven, slice into generous wedges and serve with a large dollop of vanilla ice cream!

It was when I was learning pie making that I found out that a good apple pie is made of 2 kinds of apples - most of them are those which hold their shape while cooking and there is a smaller percentage of apples which breakdown while cooking. Ever since I moved to Singapore, I have not been able to find both kinds of apples in most grocery stores. Recently I discovered a whole new world of apples here in Mustafa that I had no idea existed in Singapore. And at such an unlikely location - anyone who has been to Mustafa will understand what I mean! Well since I have discovered these, my favorite apple pie is back in my kitchen and I'm sharing it on the blog today.

This recipe is from the book "The Perfect Recipe" by Pam Anderson. The name of the recipe is "Blue Ribbon Apple Pie" and befittingly so. This is a prizeworthy pie, where every little detail matters. The crust is flaky and crisp and the apples are sweet and cinnamony. The texture of the apples in every bite is perfect! Its heaven on a plate! There are a few additional steps like cooking the apples before they are added to the crust to be baked. This is wonderful for managing the texture of the apples and also the moisture content in the filling.

Ingredients:

Pie Dough

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons sugar

11 tablespoons (1stick plus 3 tablespoons) unsalted butter, cut into 1/4 inch pieces and frozen

7 tablespoons vegetable shortening, frozen

Apple Filling

4 tablespoons (1/2 stick)

3 1/2 pounds apples that hold their shape during baking, peeled, quartered cored and sliced 1/4 inch thick

3/4 cup sugar

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 egg white

1 tablespoon sugar

Method:

1. Pie Dough: Mix flour, salt and sugar in a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Scatter butter pieces over flour mixture, tossing to coat butter with a little flour. Cut butter into flour with five one second pulses. Add shortening and continue to pulse until flour is pale yellow and resembles coarse cornmeal, with butter bits no larger than small peas about 4 more one second pulses. Turn mixture into a medium bowl.

2. Sprinkle 5 tablespoons ice water over mixture. With a rubber spatula, use a folding motion to mix. Press down on dough with broad side of spatula until dough sticks together, adding upto 1 tablespoon more ice water if necessary.

3. Divide dough into 2 balls, one slightly larger than the other. Flatten each into 4-inch wide disk. Dust lightly with flour, wrap in plastic and refrigerate for atleast 30 minutes. (Dough can be refrigerated overnight.)

4. Apple Filling: Meanwhile, heat butter in a large (11 - 12 inch) skillet over medium high heat. Add apples, sugar and cinnamon and when they start to sizzle and steam, reduce heat to low. Cover pan and simmer until apples soften and release their juices, about 8 minutes. Uncover, increase heat to medium high and cook, stirring frequently, until softer apples start to fall apart and juices thicken to thin syrup consistency, about 5 minutes longer. Transfer apples to a jelly roll pan; refrigerate or set in a cool place until apples cool to room temperature. Stir in vanilla extract.

5. Adjust oven rack to lowest position and preheat oven to 400F/200C. Remove larger dough disk from refrigerator. (Let stand to soften slightly if refrigerated for longer than 30 minutes.) Roll disk out on a lightly floured surface into a 12 inch circle, about 1/8 inch thick. Transfer and fit dough into a 9-inch oven proof glass pie pan, leaving any overhanging dough in place. If there are any tears in the dough when it is laid into the pie dish, scraps of dough can be used to patch it up. Once cooked, it will be fine and the filling and juices will not leak out. Turn cooled apples into pie shell.

6. Roll smaller dough disk out on a lightly floured surface into a 10-inch circle. Lay it over fruit. Trim top and bottom edges to 1/2 inch beyond pan lip. Tuck this rim of dough underneath itself so that folded edge is flush with lip. Flute dough or press with fork tines to seal. Cut 4 vents at right angles on top of dough to allow steam to escape. Brush pie top with egg white and sprinkle with sugar. Freeze pie for 15 minutes.

7. Place pie on baking sheet and bake until top crust is golden, about 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350F/180C and continue baking until crust is golden brown and juices, bubble, 30 to 35 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack; cool slightly. Serve warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.