Gluten Free Mini Apple and Custard Pies
These little apple and custard pies are super simple to make, not too sweet and a perfect afternoon treat with a cuppa or look cute as part of a teatime spread. They are also gluten free, dairy free and easily made egg free too so your vegan friends and family can enjoy then too.
Servings: 6 pies
Calories: 307kcal
Ingredients
For the gluten free pastry
- 200 g gluten free plain flour
- 50 g caster sugar
- 80 g butter or butter alternative (I use Flora plant butter) I use Flora blocks of plant butter
- 20 g fat (I use Trex white vegetable fat) I use Trex, but you can use Crisp n Dry or another 20g plant butter.
- 1 tbsp ground flaxseed this and the water is for your egg but you can use 1 egg if you like.
- 3 tbsp water
For the apple pie filling
- 2 dessert apples
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- 2 tbsp water
For the custard filling
- 3 level tsp Bird's original custard powder
- 2 tsp caster sugar
- 90 ml dairy free milk I used soya milk
Instructions
To make the gluten free shortcrust pastry
- To make your pastry, measure the flour, butter and fat into a bowl and using your fingertips or a pastry cutter to combine the ingredients until you get fine breadcrumbs.
- Stir in the sugar and a pinch of salt
- Now, if using one, make your flaxseed egg by simply mixing the flaxseed and water together.
- Add the 'egg' (or real egg) to the pastry crumbs and mix with a table knife. The pastry will still be very crumbly.
- Turn the crumble mixture out onto a kitchen surface (no need to flour the surface) and bring the crumble together with the heel of your hands until it comes together and forms pastry dough. This will take about 2 mins.
- Now pop the pastry ball into the fridge while you set to work on your apple filling.
To make the apple filing
- Peel, core and dice the eating apples into small pieces. Add to a saucepan along with 2tbsp water and 1tsp of lemon juice to prevent apple from browning. Heat for 10-15 mins, with the lid on, on a medium heat to soften the apple.
- TIP: If the apples haven't broken down then just mush them up a bit with a fork or potato masher.
- No need to sweeten to taste as these are eating apples.
- Set aside to cool.
To make the custard filling
- Make up the custard by measuring the custard powder into a jug, adding 2tsp sugar and 1tbsp of the 'milk'. Mix to a paste (this prevents lumps) then add the remaining liquid.
- Heat custard in microwave I heated mine for 60 seconds on 900w. The custard should be a thin consistency, you'll need to allow it to cool and it will thicken once cooled.TIP: you can do this over the stove, just don't take your eyes off the custard and keep stirring.
- Leave to cool along with the apples.
Making the pastry cases
- Roll out the pastry and cut 6 large rounds (I used my largest fluted cutter, approx. 12cm) tease the pastry circles into a moderately deep cupcake/muffin tin. Cut out 6 more pastry circles with the remaining pastry. Ensure the circles are large enough to act as lids to your pies.
- If you can bear to wait, pop the filled tin back into the fridge to let the pastry cases rest (I put the lids on a plate so they can go in the fridge too). This prevents pastry shrinkage.
Filling your mini apple and custard pies
- Take the cooled apple and spoon into the 6 pastry cases, I press the apple down with a little dip in the middle.
- Top each apple layer with a layer of your custard (it works out about 2tsp of custard in each pie) and pop on your lids. Then prick the lid so you have an air vent, this decreases the chance of custard seepage.
- Now I use a pastry brush dipped into the custard jug to mop up any last bits of custard to brush the pie tops, this helps with colour and give a shiny glaze to each pie. Finally sprinkle sugar onto the tops of each mini pies.
- Pop your pies into the oven 180°C/160°C fan/350°F/ Gas 4 for 20 minutes.
- You can eat this straight from the oven or allow to cool and enjoy for teatime.
Nutrition
Calories: 307kcal | Carbohydrates: 41g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 16g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Trans Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 1mg | Sodium: 98mg | Potassium: 102mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 17g | Vitamin A: 93IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 49mg | Iron: 1mg