Apple pie is one of England’s favourite desserts, and ideal to use up windfallen apples. If you live near a community orchard, you may even be able to get apples for free. Apple Pie with Shortcrust Pastry (The Veg Space) encases fruits, cinnamon and sultanas in homemade pastry, serve with vegan custard.
Use vegan butters with no palm oil. Use a reusable baking liner or unbleached parchment paper. Keep recipes away from pets, due to toxic ingredients (apple pips & seeds, cloves, nutmeg, allspice). Keep fresh dough away from pets, as it can expand in the stomach.
Nearly all shop-bought pies are made with palm oil (pastry) and wrapped in plastic. And better-quality apple pies are also hideously expensive, which an apple pie should not be. It’s pastry – and apples?! Just make your own.
If buying apples, choose organic as not only do they taste nicer (they don’t come in plastic packaging from farm shops) but they are free from shellac (a greasy coating made from insects, used to give a glossy shine to non-organic apples). This ‘artificial fruit wax’ is used also to give the apples a longer shelf life. Far better to just buy fresh apples or pick some from the tree!
England’s first apple pie was created back in the days of Chaucer, in 1381. Back in the day when sugar was expensive, apples were sweetened with figs (more expensive today than sugar), honey and spices, and often paired with pears. It had no crust, that came in the 15th century when Dutch bakers started creating the common lattice-top. Serve homemade apple pie with vegan cream, custard or ice-cream.
Tips for an Awesome Apple Pie
The best apples to choose for apple pie are a combination of sweet (gala or pink lady) and tart (granny smith). What’s important is to ensure that the apples are ripe but firm, so they hold up well when cooking, you still want some chunks left. Add natural sugar to sweeten, then drain liquid and place apples carefully in the pastry crust, baking till nicely cooked.
Most apples pies are made with a shortcrust pastry crust, as it tends to be more firm and holds the apple filling better than flaky puff pastry. However, nearly all ready-made pastry in the UK contains palm oil (its unsustainable use is harming the habitats of orangutans and other endangered creatures – there is no such thing as sustainable palm oil). So it’s time to learn how to make your own pastry!
It’s a lot simpler than you would know, but you obviously need a hard surface and rolling pin, and be sure to keep fresh dough away from pets, as it can expand in the stomach. The good news is that Naturli (sold in all stores) is a good ‘vegan block butter’ that makes the process a lot simpler (and cheaper) than using coconut oil.
For 2-ingredient vegan pastry, mix 250g of flour with 1.5 teaspoons of salt, add 125g of chilled cubed vegan butter and rub into flour. Pour over 2 teaspoons of cold water then make a dough, adding a little water to right consistency. Knead the dough into a ball, then chill for 20 minutes.
Although it’s important to wrap the dough to prevent it drying out, you don’t have to use clingfilm. You can use parchment paper, vegan wax food wraps or even a tea towel. Some shops even sell reusable ‘clingfilm’ made from food-grade silicone. This dough will keep for up to 3 months in the freezer. When ready to use, just defrost overnight in the fridge, then knead again and roll out to make your vegan pie crust.
Humble Apple Pie (So Vegan) uses Bramley apples that are good for baking, along with cinnamon, allspice and nutmeg. Or use any other apples, to use up food waste or windfalls.
Vegan Apple Pie (Addicted to Dates) has a spiced cinnamon filling, inside a flaky pie crust. This recipe is a by a classically-trained Irish baker.
Classic Apple Pie (Rainbow Nourishments) is made with a few simple pantry ingredients. This recipe is a by talented Aussie baker.
Eaten Too Many Apple Pies (?!)
This Apple Pie Smoothie (The Blender Girl) keeps things super-simple, if you leave out the optional add-ons. Just whizz together plant milk with applesauce (or stewed apples), soaked unsalted cashews, vanilla, cinnamon and maple syrup (with a cup of ice). If you want, you can add in a tablespoon of lucuma (this is a South American superfood powder that tastes kind of like maple caramel, for a sweeter taste and extra nutrients). It’s expensive, but you only use a little per smoothie.
Are McDonald’s Apple Pies Vegan?
Not really if you consider contaminated oil a problem. On its website, McDonald’s states that there is a risk that the oil used to make their apple pies could also be the same oil used to cook chicken and fish. The recipe has recently had a makeover to make it less sugary and fried. But it still contains palm oil and just 23% apples, a very low amount for an apple pie. Some people have even tried to sue the fast food chain, for scalds experienced when the boiling hot liquid oozed out.
Homemade McDonald’s Apple Pies (So Vegan) are for those of you who like the fast food versions. Just like the bought ones, be careful as the apple filling could be boiling hot. Cool before eating. The good news is that you can also use local organic apples to make these (McDonald’s apple pies all contain apples that are packed in the pies in the USA, before being flown over here).
