Charmed - 'cursed' Family Recipe Apple Pie

 If you follow me on TikTok, you might have seen i'm planning a Screen to Cuisine Halloween Series, where I spin a wheel to decide what spooky, autumnal, or Halloween-themed movie or series to watch — and then I make recipes inspired by it. If you want to follow along (and maybe even help choose the next bake), you can find me here: @thescholefields2024 on TikTok.

For this bake, we’re heading into magical TV territory with a pie inspired by Charmed. In one episode, Piper is searching for her Grams’ apple pie recipe. She finds what she thinks is a treasured family recipe… only to discover that after baking it, strange things start happening. While my version isn’t cursed, it’s so delicious it might just disappear mysteriously from your kitchen!

This pie
 has a buttery shortcrust pastry, spiced apple filling, and a golden, sugary top that’s perfect for cosy autumn nights. You can make the pastry from scratch (I’ve included my go-to recipe below) or take a shortcut with two sheets of ready-rolled shortcrust pastry.

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Ingredients

For the Pastry

100g cold salted butter
150g cold lard or vegetable shortening
2 tbsp caster sugar
500g plain flour
100ml cold water with 1 tbsp lemon juice

For the Apple Filling

6 large Bramley or Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and sliced
100g soft brown sugar
50g caster sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp mixed spice
2 tbsp lemon juice
100ml water
100ml water mixed with 2 tbsp cornflour (slurry)

To Finish

1 egg mixed with 2 tbsp water (egg wash)
1 tbsp demerara or sanding sugar

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Method

Make the Apple Filling

Place the sliced apples in a large pan with both sugars, the cinnamon, mixed spice, lemon juice, and 100ml water. Bring to a gentle simmer. Cook for about 5 minutes until the apples start to soften, then stir in the cornflour slurry. Continue to cook for 2–3 minutes until the mixture thickens. Remove from the heat and set the pan into a sink of ice water to cool completely before using.

Make the Pastry

Add the flour, caster sugar, butter, and lard (or shortening) to a food processor and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs. While pulsing, slowly add the lemon water, a teaspoon at a time, until the dough just comes together.
Turn the dough out onto a clean surface, bring it together gently, and divide into two pieces — one roughly two-thirds of the dough and the other one-third. Flatten each piece into a disc, wrap in cling film, and refrigerate for at least an hour.

Assemble the Pie

Preheat your oven to 200°C. Roll out the larger piece of pastry to about ¼ inch thick and line a 9-inch pie dish, pressing the pastry gently into the edges and leaving a slight overhang. Spoon in the cooled apple filling.
Roll out the remaining pastry to ¼ inch thick and place it over the top of the pie. Pinch the edges together, then crimp or press with a fork to seal. Brush the top with egg wash, sprinkle over the demerara sugar, and cut 2–3 small slits to let steam escape.

Place the pie dish on a baking tray and bake for 30–40 minutes until the pastry is golden and crisp.

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Serving Suggestions

This pie is heavenly served warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or a dollop of clotted cream. It’s also perfect for making ahead — just reheat slices gently before serving.

Whether you’re making this for a Halloween party, a spooky movie night, or simply because autumn baking is the best baking, this pie will be a hit with witches, mortals, and everyone in between.