Delia Smith Apple Pie​ Recipe​

This Delia-style apple pie is everything a classic British pie should be: crisp, buttery pastry with a tender apple filling that tastes bright, lightly spiced, and properly homemade. The top bakes up golden and flaky, while the apples soften into a juicy, jammy layer without turning to mush. It’s very doable for a confident beginner, and once you’ve made the pastry once, you’ll never look back. Allow about 2 hours total, including chilling, baking, and a little cooling time before slicing.

This apple pie is the sort you make once, then quietly come back to all year round. Keep the pastry cold, bake it on a hot tray, and let it cool long enough to slice neatly. After that, it’s simply apples, butter, sugar, and a golden crust doing what they do best.

What Is This Delia-Style Apple Pie Like?

This is a traditional apple pie with shortcrust pastry: crisp at the edges, tender underneath, and sturdy enough to hold a generous layer of fruit. The filling is brightened with lemon and gently warmed with cinnamon and nutmeg, so it tastes like apples first, spice second. It’s best served slightly warm, when the juices are glossy and the crust still shatters a little as you cut.

Ingredients

For the Shortcrust Pastry

• 225g plain flour
• Pinch of fine salt
• 110g unsalted butter, very cold and diced
• 50g lard or vegetable shortening, very cold
• 2 tbsp icing sugar (optional)
• 4–6 tbsp cold water

For the Apple Filling

• 900g cooking apples (e.g., Bramley), peeled, cored, thinly sliced
• 100g caster sugar (reduce to 80g if you prefer it less sweet)
• 1½ tbsp plain flour (or 1 tbsp cornflour)
• ½ tsp ground cinnamon
• ¼ tsp freshly grated nutmeg
• Zest and juice of ½ lemon
• 25g unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

For Finishing

• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 tbsp milk (optional, to loosen the glaze)
• 1 tbsp demerara sugar

How to Make Delia Smith Apple Pie Recipe

• Prepare the oven: Preheat the oven to 200°C or 180°C fan. Place a shelf in the middle of the oven and put a sturdy baking tray on it to heat up, so the base starts cooking straight away.
• Make the pastry: Put the flour and salt (and icing sugar, if using) into a large bowl. Add the cold butter and lard, then rub in with your fingertips until the mixture looks like fine breadcrumbs. Work quickly so the fat stays cold.
• Bring the dough together: Add cold water a tablespoon at a time, stirring with a knife until clumps form. Use your hands to press it into a dough, but do not knead. Flatten into a disc, wrap, and chill for 20 to 30 minutes.
• Mix the filling: Tip the sliced apples into a bowl and add the caster sugar, flour (or cornflour), cinnamon, nutmeg, and lemon zest and juice. Toss thoroughly so the apples are evenly coated and the flour disappears.
• Line the pie dish: On a lightly floured surface, roll out about two-thirds of the pastry to a round a little larger than a 23cm pie dish. Lift it in, ease it into the corners without stretching, and let the excess hang over the rim.
• Fill and top: Pile the apples into the dish (it will look generous, but they settle as they bake) and dot with the small pieces of butter. Roll out the remaining pastry for the lid, lay it over the top, then press the edges together to seal.
• Crimp, vent, and glaze: Trim the excess pastry and crimp the edge neatly. Cut 3 to 4 small steam vents in the top. Brush with beaten egg (loosened with a splash of milk if you like) and sprinkle with demerara sugar.
• Bake: Place the pie on the hot baking tray and bake for 20 minutes at 200°C (180°C fan). Reduce the temperature to 180°C (160°C fan) and bake for 30 to 35 minutes more, until the crust is deep golden and you can see bubbling juices through the vents.
• Cool before slicing: Let the pie cool on a rack for at least 30 to 45 minutes. This gives the filling time to settle, so your slices hold their shape and the pastry stays crisp.

Tips

How do I stop apple pie getting a soggy bottom?

Bake the pie on a preheated tray, keep the pastry well chilled, and include flour or cornflour in the filling to thicken the juices. If your pie dish is very thick ceramic, give it a few extra minutes in the oven to fully crisp the base.

Why does my pastry shrink in the oven?

Shrinkage usually comes from stretching the dough when lining the dish. Ease it in gently, let the pastry relax in the fridge, and avoid pulling it tight over the rim. Chilling the lined dish for 10 minutes before filling also helps.

How can I make the top properly golden and crisp?

Use an egg glaze and finish with demerara sugar, then start the bake at a higher temperature before lowering it. If the top colours too quickly, cover loosely with foil rather than dropping the oven temperature too early.

Which apples are best for a classic British apple pie?

Cooking apples like Bramley give that soft, tangy filling. For more texture, replace a quarter of the apples with firm eating apples such as Braeburn, Cox, or Pink Lady, sliced thinly so they cook through.

Serving Suggestions

• Warm slices with proper custard
• Vanilla ice cream and an extra sprinkle of demerara sugar
• Lightly whipped cream with a pinch of cinnamon
• Sharp cheddar on the side if you like the sweet-savoury contrast

Storage

Room Temperature

Keep the pie loosely covered for up to 1 day. If your kitchen is warm, it’s better in the fridge, then rewarm slices as needed.

Refrigerator

Store covered for 3 to 4 days. Reheat slices in a 180°C oven for about 10 to 12 minutes to bring back the crisp pastry (the microwave works, but it softens the crust).

Freezing

Freeze the fully cooled pie (or individual slices) well wrapped for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge, then reheat in a 180°C oven until hot through. If freezing slices, separate them with baking paper so they lift out cleanly.

Nutrition

• Calories: 390 kcal
• Carbohydrates: 55 g
• Protein: 5 g
• Fat: 18 g
• Saturated Fat: 10 g
• Sodium: 220 mg

Disclaimer: Nutrition values are estimates and will vary depending on ingredients and portion size.

FAQs