I have been seeing crab apples for years but it never occurred to me that they were edible. I always saw them falling on the ground and going to waste so I thought there had to be a reason why people wouldn’t collect them.

Well, it turns out that they are not only edible but very delicious too. I have been walking under a crab apple tree almost every day so I collected as much as I could carry! They are a bit dry to the tongue when eaten fresh so it’s best to cook them. After making crab apple jelly which was a great success, I wanted to try an apple pie.

The most tedious part is removing the stems and seeds as they are quite tiny. I attempted to make a low fat version of this vegan pie so I completely improvised on the crust. I was very happy with the results so here is the full recipe.

I hope this inspires you to go around your neighbourhood and collect fruit and veggies that would otherwise go to waste!

Print Recipe

Crab Apple Pie Yum

A redefined classic using zero waste ingredients!

Course

Baking, Dessert

Cuisine

British, HCLF

Prep Time

45 minutes

Cook Time

35-45 minutes

Servings

servings

Ingredients

For the crust:

• 1 1/2 cups AP Flour
• 1 cup Wholewheat Flour
• 2 Bananas mashed
• 2 tbsp Brown Sugar
• 1 tsp Cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp Sea Salt

For the filling:

• 800 g Crab Apples washed and de-seeded
• 3/4 cup Brown Sugar
• 1 1/2 tbsp Lemon Juice
• 1 tbsp AP Flour
• 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
• 1 tsp Cinnamon

"Egg" wash

• 1 tbsp Plant Milk
• 1 tbsp Agave Nectar

Course Baking, Dessert Cuisine British, HCLF Prep Time 45 minutes Cook Time 35-45 minutes Servings servings Ingredients For the crust: 1 1/2 cups AP Flour 1 cup Wholewheat Flour 2 Bananas mashed 2 tbsp Brown Sugar 1 tsp Cinnamon 1/2 tsp Sea Salt For the filling: 800 g Crab Apples washed and de-seeded 3/4 cup Brown Sugar 1 1/2 tbsp Lemon Juice 1 tbsp AP Flour 1 tsp Vanilla Extract 1 tsp Cinnamon "Egg" wash 1 tbsp Plant Milk 1 tbsp Agave Nectar

Instructions

1. Preheat your oven at 190 °C. Grease a 23 cm round tin by using oil spray and flour or alternatively using baking paper to line the tin.
2. Prepare your crust by mashing the bananas, then mix in the rest of the ingredients and finally sift the flour in the mixture.
3. Mix until well combined. When it becomes too difficult to mix with the spoon continue by hand.
4. Separate the dough into two portions; approximately 2/3 of the dough for the base and 1/3 of the dough for the top.
5. Using a rolling pin, roll out your dough to around 1/2 cm thick and line your baking tin.
6. Now make your filling. Place all the ingredients in a bowl, mix and transfer to your dough-lined tin.
7. Cover with the remaining dough and seal the borders carefully. Make a single or multiple incisions so the steam can escape.
8. Brush with your "egg" wash to achieve a golden brown colour when baked.
9. Bake for 35-45 minutes.
10. Let it cool down for at least 30 minutes before cutting into it. Enjoy!

Recipe Notes

Jo's Tips

• Use ripe bananas to get a sweeter crust.
• If you cannot find crab apples, store-bought apples will work great too.
• For best results when cutting your slices, let the pie cool down completely.