Harry Potter's Apple Pie

With a brand new year, I would love to share this Apple Pie recipe in The Unofficial Harry Potter Cookbook by Dinah Bucholz for a sweet start. Yup... you heard it, there's actually a recipe book on the food mentioned in Harry Potter series but it's unofficial though. It falls under Chapter 8 Desserts and Snacks at School. Did you drool when you read thru the books over what Mrs Weasley cooks for the kids and the daily feast the elves served at Hogwarts??

My ex-colleague, Bobby, who is a movie buff... loves to order movies and memorabilia via the net and I was surprised that he actually went all the way to get this recipe book even though he don't cook! He was kind enough to lend me the book (which reminds me that I need to return to him hehe!!!). The book does not have any photos and it was printed to make it look old school. I loved the "hand torn" feel of the long edge bind of the book!

The author is an American hence the measurements are not in metric which is quite a pain as I need to calculate and convert them before using. Anyway, I've only tried one recipe from this book hence I'm not sure if all the recipes work. Another disappointment is there is no recipe for Butter Beer which is something I'm always curious how it would taste like. However there are numerous recipes on the net though just that I haven't given them a go.

The other thing is some of the recipes are pretty lame... like fried eggs and bacon... hmmm perhaps this is targeted at the younger audience?

For this pie, I've tweaked the recipe. Did not have shortening so I've just used butter. Surprisingly the pie is pretty good. The crust is buttery (heh maybe because I've used everything butter) and loved the cinnamon apple fillings. To make it more decadent, I've served it ala mode - with a scoop of vanilla ice cream! For the full recipe, check here.

Apple Pie
The Unofficial Harry Potter Cookbook by Dinah Bucholz

Pie Crust:
560 g flour
3 Tbsp granulated sugar
1/2 tsp salt
280 g butter, cut into chunks (it called for shortening as well but I just use butter for the whole lot)
1/2 cup ice water

Filling:
8 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and chopped
Juice and grated zest of 1 lemon
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

1 egg, lightly beaten, for brushing over the crust
Sugar, for sprinkling over the crust


1. Place the flour, sugar, and salt in a food processor and pulse a few times to combine.

2. Scatter the chunks of butter over the flour and pulse about 20 times, until the mix resembles coarse crumbs. Since I do not have a food processor, I just use my finger tips and rub in the butter.

3. Transfer to a bowl and sprinkle on the 1/2 cup water, and mix with a spatula or your hands until the dough sticks together. If it's too dry, you can add more water 1 Tbsp at a time (better too wet than too dry).

4. Divide the dough in half and shape into round discs, wrap in plastic wrap, and chill in the fridge at least 2 hours or up to 3 days.

5. Preheat the oven to 180C. Remove one of the discs and roll it out on a floured surface into a 11" circle so that it can fit inside a 9" pie dish.

6. Fold the circle in quarters to lift it, then unfold it inside your pie plate. Trim the overhang to about 1", and place the plate in the fridge while you make the filling.

7. Combine the filling ingredients and mix well. The book asked to place the fillings directly on the pie bottom but I cooked it a little just to soften some of the apple pieces and thicken up the liquid. Cool the apples down before piling on the bottom crust.

8. Remove the second discs from fridge and roll out into 10" circle and place on top of the apples. Trim off the excess from the edge and crimp with fork or fingers. There should be excess dough, just make some leaves or flowers with it to decorate the pie.

9. Beat the egg and brush over the crust with a pastry brush. Cut slits in the top to form air vents. Sprinkle the extra sugar generously over the top.

10. Place the pie on a baking sheet to catch any drips and bake the pie on the bottom rack for 1.5 - 2 hours or until the crust is golden.

So which would be my next recipe to try out???