Apple Blossom Pie - Dorothy's Recipe

Of all the recipes that have been handed down in our family from generation to generation, the one of my Nanna's I've always been especially fond of is Apple Blossom Pie. And so a few weeks back, as I flipped through my recipe books and came across it, I decided to recreate that little bit of history... I brought it as dessert when we had dinner at my Mum's one night and between four adults and two little girls, we devoured the entire pie.

Here's my Nanna's recipe (with my adjustments) for you all to try...

Apple Blossom Pie

1 baked pastry case (shortcrust)

2 large (or 3 medium sized) apples

¼ cup sugar

½ cup water

pulp of 2 passion fruit, strained to remove seeds

½ tin sweetened condensed milk (approximately 200g)

juice of 1 lemon

yolk of 1 egg

1 level dessertspoon gelatine

juice drained from cooked apple made up to ¾ cup of liquid with apple juice 

1 egg white

pink food colouring

whipped and sweetened cream

Peel, core and slice the apples. Place in a saucepan with the water and sugar and simmer until the fruit is soft. Drain the syrup away - reserve it for the 3rd layer, adding apple juice to make a total of ¾ cup of liquid. Add gelatine, stir well and set aside. Puree the cooked apples until smooth, add passionfruit pulp (I strained mine to remove the seeds, although the recipe did not state to do so). Cool. Once cold, place in pastry case and refrigerate. For the 2nd layer, combine the sweetened condensed milk with the egg yolk and lemon juice and beat in an electric mixer on medium speed. Spread over the apple and passionfruit layer and refrigerate. For the 3rd layer of apple blossom topping, wait for the fruit syrup/gelatine mixture to cool and become partly set. Add a pinch of salt to the egg white and beat until stiff in an electric mixer on high speed. Colour a pale pink. At the same speed, add the partly set apple juice and continue beating until thick. Pile on the pie and decorate the edge with sweetened cream. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

I used a pre-bought shortcrust pastry case above.  However, this recipe definitely better suits a home baked one.