BAKED APPLE DUMPLING PIE

Pastry for a 2-crust pie

1/4 cup currants
1/4 cup walnut pieces, finely chopped
1/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 cup (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter
1/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup (4 tablespoons) raspberry preserves or raspberry syrup
4 Golden Delicious apples
1 egg yolk mixed with 1 teaspoon water
Sugar for sprinkling
Light or heavy cream, for pouring

If you haven't already, prepare the pastry and refrigerate it until
firm enough to roll, about 1 hour. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Combine the raisins, walnuts, brown sugar and cinnamon in a small
bowl and set aside.

Select an ovenproof skillet or saute pan that measures 9 inches
across the bottom and 11 to 12 inches across the top. (A cast iron
skillet works well and makes a nice presentation.) Melt the butter in
the skillet over medium heat, then stir in the brown sugar and
preserves. When the mixture is bubbling evenly over the surface of
the pan -- 30 seconds or so -- remove pan from the heat.

Do not peel the apples; the peels will help them to hold together.
Halve them top to bottom, however, and core each half. (A melon
baller does a good job.) Spoon some of the raisin-walnut mixture into
each apple half, compacting it with a finger.

Quickly invert the stuffed apple halves and place them cut side down
in the skillet. You should be able to get 6 or 7 around the outside
and 1 in the center. Finely dice the remaining apple half, if left
over, and scatter the pieces between the apples. Sprinkle the
leftover raisin-nut mixture between the apples.

Roll out all of the pastry between two sheets of waxed paper into a
12-inch circle. After removing the top sheet of paper, invert the
pastry over the apples, center it and peel off the other sheet of
paper.

Lifting the edge of the pastry, either tuck the edge straight down
along the inside of the pan or pinch it to crimp the edge. Poke
several large vent holes in the pastry with a paring knife, twisting
the knife to enlarge the holes slightly.

Lightly brush the pastry with the egg wash and sprinkle surface with
sugar. Place the pie directly on the center oven rack and bake for 20
minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 375 degrees and bake until
the top crust is golden brown, another 25 minutes.

Transfer the pie to a cooling rack and let cool for at least 30
minutes or to room temperature before serving.