Pies in Advance

Our answer

Nigella's Egg And Bacon Pie (from Domestic Goddess and on the Nigella website) can be assembled up to 2 days in advance and then refrigerated until needed. So you could make the pie on the morning of Christmas Eve and then bake it on Boxing Day. You could also assemble the pie and then freeze it (unbaked) up to a month in advance. The pie will need to be thatwed for 24 hours in the fridge before you bake it.

if you are baking the pie direct from the fridge then you may find that it needs an extra 5 to 10 minutes baking time to make sure that it is completely cooked through. The recipe gives a timing for a cooled, but not chilled, filling. The pie should be piping hot in the centre.

Leftovers should be refrigerated as quickly as possible (and within 2 hours of baking) and should be eaten within 2 days.

If you are short of time then a good quality store-bought shortcust pastry (pie crust) could be used. If you buy a frozen pastry then bear in mind that you cannont re-freeze uncooked and thawed pastry dough.

For the apple pie we are not sure if you are referring to the Italian Apple Pie from Nigellissima but this can be baked in advance and as soon as it is cool you can wrap it in a double layer of clingfilm and a layer of foil and freeze it for up to 3 months. To thaw the cake unwrap it and put it on a wire rack and let it thaw for about 4 hours at room temperature. It is best eaten on the day it has thawed. For other apple pies with pastry you can freeze the assembled and uncooked pie and thaw it for 24 hours before baking it. However it is best to choose an apple pie recipe with a pre-cooked filling, such as Nigella's Blacberry And Apple Pie (from Domestic Goddess).