Easy, homemade short crust pastry wrapped around a tangy and lightly spiced apricot filling. An impressive apricot shortcrust pie to serve for dessert or morning tea. I like mine with whipped cream or ice cream!
This beautiful Apricot Shortcrust Pie can be made at any time of the year as it is made with canned apricots. In this recipe, I've also included easy steps to make your own Sweet Short Pastry.
The process is nowhere near as complicated as you might think! An added bonus is how smug you will feel letting people know you made it from scratch. Baking is my passion and my aim is to help make it as simple as possible for you.
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Ingredient notes:
- Pastry: Don't be intimidated by making your own pastry! It's actually quite simple and deeply satisfying. Plus you can mention it several times to your guests as they eat your delicious pie.
- Apricots: If you're making your pastry from scratch then cut yourself a break and use canned apricots! They are a great base to the flavoursome apricot filling.
- Lemon: The perfect addition of zesty flavour to the apricot filling.
Note: Scroll to the recipe card for the ingredients, quantities and the full method.
Step by step instructions:
Make the pastry. In a bowl or food processor combine dry ingredients and add the cold butter. Rub in or blitz until the mix resembles breadcrumbs.
Slowly add the iced water a tablespoon at a time, mixing with a knife until the dough starts to come together.
Cut off a third of the dough for the top. Shape into 2 balls, wrap in cling film and chill in the fridge.
Drain the apricots, reserving the syrup. In a saucepan heat the syrup, sugar, lemon, vanilla and spice until it begins to simmer. Add the drained apricots.
Mix the cornflour and water into a slurry, add to the apricots and stir well as you boil it to thicken the filling. Set aside to cool.
Preheat oven to 200°C fan bake.
Roll out the pastry to line a greased pie dish or tart tray. Add the apricot filling.
Roll out a top for the pie, use egg wash to seal the pastry together at the edges and pinch shut. Use leftover pastry to decorate the top.
Brush over egg wash and sprinkle sugar over the top, cut a few air vents and place in the oven towards the bottom. Bake for 50 minutes or until golden brown.
Set aside to cool for 30 mins before cutting. Serve with ice cream or whipped cream.
Recipe FAQs:
It certainly does make it easier to remove the pie if there is a removable base. But it's not essential. As long as you grease the pie dish well, you should be able to serve it up easily.
They are both great options and serve different purposes for me. When I have the time, I prefer to make my own pastry from scratch. That way I know exactly what is and isn't in it (preservatives, food colouring etc). But just like everyone, I use store-bought when I'm short on time!
Storage:
The apricots can be prepared in advance if you want to break the recipe up.
Store any apricot pie leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to three days. Reheat in the oven or microwave, or serve cold.
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Apricot Shortcrust Pie
Lightly spiced apricots baked into a homemade shortcrust pie.
Ingredients
pastry
- 2 ½ cups plain flour
- ½ tsp baking powder
- 4 Tbsp sugar
- ½ tsp salt
- 225g cold butter, diced
- ¼ cup iced water (approx)
apricot filling
- 2 cans apricots in syrup
- ¾ cup apricot syrup, from can
- ¾ cup sugar
- ½ tsp lemon zest
- 1 Tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ¼ tsp mixed spice
- 5 Tbsp cornflour + 5 Tbsp water
- 1 egg, whisked
to serve
- Whipped cream or ice cream
Instructions
- Make the pastry. In a bowl or food processor combine dry ingredients and add the cold butter. Rub in or blitz until the mix resembles breadcrumbs.
- Slowly add the iced water a tablespoon at a time, mixing with a knife until the dough starts to come together. Cut off a third of the dough for the top. Shape into 2 balls, wrap in cling film and chill in the fridge.
- Drain the apricots, reserving the syrup.
- In a saucepan heat ¾ cup of the reserved syrup, sugar, lemon, vanilla and spice until it begins to simmer. Add the drained apricots.
- Mix the cornflour and water into a slurry, add to the apricots and stir well as you boil it to thicken the filling. Set aside to cool.
- Preheat oven to 200°C fan bake.
- Roll out the pastry to line a greased pie dish or tart tray. Add the apricot filling.
- Roll out a top for the pie, use egg wash to seal the pastry together at the edges and pinch shut. Use leftover pastry to decorate the top.
- Brush over egg wash and sprinkle sugar over the top, cut a few air vents and place in the oven towards the bottom. Bake for 50 minutes or until golden brown.
- Set aside to cool for 30 mins before cutting. Serve with ice cream or whipped cream.
Notes
- You can use store bought sweet short crust pastry to speed up this recipe.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 8 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 554Total Fat: 26gSaturated Fat: 16gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 8gCholesterol: 92mgSodium: 394mgCarbohydrates: 76gFiber: 2gSugar: 40gProtein: 6g
Nutritional values are approximate. Please use your own calculations if you require a special diet.
Thank you for checking out this recipe. I hope you enjoy making and eating it! If you have any questions, queries or feedback, please feel free to leave a comment below.
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Vanya
Lisa says
Can the pastry be made fin advance? I was thinking of making the pastry but prob not make the pie for a couple of days??
VJ cooks says
Hi Lisa, yes it can! This pastry will keep well in the fridge for 1-2 days, or the freezer for up to a month! Just make sure you wrap it well in cling film either way. Happy baking 🙂
Tania says
Hi VJ,
Can you use gluten free flour and arrowroot to make a gluten free option? And how much arrowroot to flour ratio?
Thanks Tania.
VJ cooks says
Hi Tania, gluten free pastry is a completely different science! I would recommend buying store bought gf shortcrust pastry, or using a tried and true recipe to make your own.
Adele says
Hi! I'm keen to try this recipe, the pastry looks delicious. Can you please tell me what size tin you use. Thanks!
Adele says
Sorry, me again! I've just noticed that the ingredients list says to use 2 tins of apricots in syrup, but the picture shows apricots in clear juice. Which would you recommend?
VJ cooks says
Hi Adele, the tin used here was 26cm in diameter but rather shallow. If you used a smaller tin, ensure the sides are higher to hold everything in. Apricots in syrup or juice would work, it really just comes down to personal preference! Thanks.
Deborah says
Hi,
Can any left of cooked pie be frozen?
Thanks
VJ cooks says
Hi Deborah, yes that should be fine. Ensure your pie is cooled and well-covered either in cling film or an airtight container.
Kelly KiwiAnne says
To begin with, I always appreciate a good written recipe. No measurement mistakes, clear instructions, easy to follow, the pictures are very helpful! It's baking now and the house smells incredibly divine. I'm really excited about it coming out of the oven. I didn't have mixed spice but allspice smelled just as good!
VJ cooks says
Thank you so much. I hope it was enjoyed by all.
Paulo says
Should I blind bake the pastry base first?
VJ cooks says
Hi Paulo, no need to blind bake this one. The base and the top of the pie will all cook evenly together this way.