Recipes, re-invented from cooking shows
Tasha's Sausage, Apple and Cranberry Pies
Prep. Time:
Baking Time:
Total Time:
1 hour (plus chilling)
45–50 minutes
About 2.5 hours
Serves:
12 individual pies
Tasha created this dish for Great British Bake Off ™ Series 14. She lined each hot water crust pie with a floor of mustard that Prue Leith raved about, then packed in a sausage filling seasoned with sage and nutmeg and studded with Bramley apple and cranberry. The judges praised the thin, crisp past...
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Ingredients
FOR THE FILLING:
A little oil — for softening the onion
1 small onion, finely diced
500 g (1.1 lb) good pork sausage meat — or skinned quality sausages
1 medium Bramley (cooking) apple, peeled and finely diced
60 g (1/2 cup) dried cranberries — or fresh, roughly chopped
6–8 fresh sage leaves, finely chopped
1/4 tsp grated nutmeg, freshly grated if possible
Salt and black pepper, to taste
FOR THE HOT WATER CRUST PASTRY:
400 g (3 1/3 cups) plain (all-purpose) flour, plus extra to dust
50 g (1/3 cup) strong white bread flour
1 tsp fine salt
115 g (1/2 cup) lard — or half lard, half butter
50 g (3 1/2 tbsp) unsalted butter
160 ml (2/3 cup) water, boiling
FOR THE MUSTARD FLOOR:
2–3 tbsp English mustard — Tasha's signature base layer
1 tbsp wholegrain mustard (optional, for texture)
TO FINISH:
1 egg, beaten (for egg wash)
Nigella or sesame seeds (optional, to top) Equipment Needed
• 12-hole muffin tin or individual pie moulds (about 200 ml each)
• Round cutters — one for bases, a smaller one for lids
• Non-stick rolling pin and a small saucepan for the hot water crust
• Pastry brush for egg wash; baking sheet
• Digital probe thermometer (to confirm the filling reaches 75°C)
Method
STEP 1: MAKE THE FILLING
Soften the diced onion in a little oil over a gentle heat, then let it cool completely. In a bowl, combine the sausage meat, cooled onion, finely diced Bramley apple, dried cranberries, chopped sage and nutmeg. Season generously with salt and pepper — sausage meat needs bold seasoning. Fry off a teaspoon of the mixture, taste it, and adjust the seasoning before filling the pies. Chill while you make the pastry.
STEP 2: MAKE THE HOT WATER CRUST
Combine both flours and the salt in a large bowl and make a well in the centre. Put the lard, butter and water in a small pan and bring to a rolling boil so the fats fully melt. Pour the boiling liquid into the flour and mix quickly with a wooden spoon, then bring together by hand into a smooth, warm dough. Work the dough while it is still warm and pliable — hot water crust is far easier to shape before it cools and stiffens. Keep a portion covered and warm for the lids.
STEP 3: LINE AND FILL
Roll the dough to about 3–4 mm thick. Cut bases and press them into the muffin holes or moulds, easing the pastry up the sides with no thin spots or tears. Brush a thin floor of English mustard over the base of each — Tasha's standout touch that Prue raved about — adding a little wholegrain mustard for texture if you like. Pack the filling in firmly, doming it slightly: a well-packed pie compensates for the way sausage shrinks as it cooks. Don't overfill to the rim.
STEP 4: LID AND CRIMP
Cut lids slightly larger than the tops. Egg-wash the pastry rims, lay on the lids and crimp firmly to seal — Paul wanted neat, even crimping. Cut a small hole in the centre of each lid to let steam escape. Egg-wash the tops and scatter with nigella or sesame seeds if using.
STEP 5: CHILL, THEN BAKE IN TWO STAGES
Chill the assembled pies for 20–30 minutes so the pastry sets before baking — cold pastry holds its shape and bakes crisper. Bake at 200°C / 400°F for 20 minutes to set and colour the crust, then reduce to 180°C / 350°F and bake for a further 25–30 minutes. The base must be deep golden and firm, not pale. For certainty, turn one pie out and check the underside is browned, and probe the centre to 75°C / 165°F. If the tops colour too quickly, tent loosely with foil and keep baking — do not take them out early.
STEP 6: REST AND SERVE
Cool the pies in the tin for 10 minutes, then lift onto a wire rack. Picnic pies are best just warm or at room temperature, when the crust is at its crispest and the filling has firmed enough to slice cleanly. The mustard floor, sage and nutmeg should read clearly against the sweet pops of apple and cranberry.
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Instructions
FOR THE FILLING:
A little oil — for softening the onion
1 small onion, finely diced
500 g (1.1 lb) good pork sausage meat — or skinned quality sausages
1 medium Bramley (cooking) apple, peeled and finely diced
60 g (1/2 cup) dried cranberries — or fresh, roughly chopped
6–8 fresh sage leaves, finely chopped
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg, freshly grated if possible
Salt and black pepper, to taste
FOR THE HOT WATER CRUST PASTRY:
400 g (3 1/3 cups) plain (all-purpose) flour, plus extra to dust
50 g (1/3 cup) strong white bread flour
1 tsp fine salt
115 g (1/2 cup) lard — or half lard, half butter
50 g (3 1/2 tbsp) unsalted butter
160 ml (2/3 cup) water, boiling
FOR THE MUSTARD FLOOR:
2–3 tbsp English mustard — Tasha's signature base layer
1 tbsp wholegrain mustard (optional, for texture)
TO FINISH:
1 egg, beaten (for egg wash)
Nigella or sesame seeds (optional, to top)
Heading 5
Ingredients
STEP 1: MAKE THE FILLING
Soften the diced onion in a little oil over a gentle heat, then let it cool completely. In a bowl, combine the sausage meat, cooled onion, finely diced Bramley apple, dried cranberries, chopped sage and nutmeg. Season generously with salt and pepper — sausage meat needs bold seasoning. Fry off a teaspoon of the mixture, taste it, and adjust the seasoning before filling the pies. Chill while you make the pastry.
STEP 2: MAKE THE HOT WATER CRUST
Combine both flours and the salt in a large bowl and make a well in the centre. Put the lard, butter and water in a small pan and bring to a rolling boil so the fats fully melt. Pour the boiling liquid into the flour and mix quickly with a wooden spoon, then bring together by hand into a smooth, warm dough. Work the dough while it is still warm and pliable — hot water crust is far easier to shape before it cools and stiffens. Keep a portion covered and warm for the lids.
STEP 3: LINE AND FILL
Roll the dough to about 3–4 mm thick. Cut bases and press them into the muffin holes or moulds, easing the pastry up the sides with no thin spots or tears. Brush a thin floor of English mustard over the base of each — Tasha's standout touch that Prue raved about — adding a little wholegrain mustard for texture if you like. Pack the filling in firmly, doming it slightly: a well-packed pie compensates for the way sausage shrinks as it cooks. Don't overfill to the rim.
STEP 4: LID AND CRIMP
Cut lids slightly larger than the tops. Egg-wash the pastry rims, lay on the lids and crimp firmly to seal — Paul wanted neat, even crimping. Cut a small hole in the centre of each lid to let steam escape. Egg-wash the tops and scatter with nigella or sesame seeds if using.
STEP 5: CHILL, THEN BAKE IN TWO STAGES
Chill the assembled pies for 20–30 minutes so the pastry sets before baking — cold pastry holds its shape and bakes crisper. Bake at 200°C / 400°F for 20 minutes to set and colour the crust, then reduce to 180°C / 350°F and bake for a further 25–30 minutes. The base must be deep golden and firm, not pale. For certainty, turn one pie out and check the underside is browned, and probe the centre to 75°C / 165°F. If the tops colour too quickly, tent loosely with foil and keep baking — do not take them out early.
STEP 6: REST AND SERVE
Cool the pies in the tin for 10 minutes, then lift onto a wire rack. Picnic pies are best just warm or at room temperature, when the crust is at its crispest and the filling has firmed enough to slice cleanly. The mustard floor, sage and nutmeg should read clearly against the sweet pops of apple and cranberry.
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