Apple Pie
Nothing is as American as Apple pie. Well, this might not be true. But pies are a big thing here in the US. My favorite pie is Apple pie, and this one is one of the best.
It's not all that simple to get the pie perfect. You need to have the perfect balance between a crispy/flaky crust and the creamy, sweet/tart filling. You want the pie to hold up to slicing and keeping the filling inside the crust. Making this Apple pie allows me to do this.
The recipe is adapted from Copenhagencakes.
Makes 1 pie (9 inch).
Ingredients:
Pie Crust:
260 g butter, salted and cold
360 g all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons confectionary sugar (powdered sugar)
75 ml water, ice-cold
Filling:
6-7 apples*,
100 g butter
120 g sugar
75 g brown sugar
50 g water
30 g all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
1½ tsk cinnamon
1 egg yolk for brushing the crust
Directions:
Crust:
Cube the butter and place it in the refrigerator.
Put the flour and sugar in the food processor and pulse just until combined. Add the cold butter pieces and pulse until the mixture looks like small coarse crumbs. Drizzle the water over the flour and pulse again until the dough just comes together.
Divide the dough in two discs and wrap them separately in plastic wrap. Refrigerate the dough for 3 hours.
On a floured work surface roll the dough out to about ⅒ inch thickness. You want the dough yo be larger than your pie pan, so you end up with a ⅓ inch overhang on a 9 inch pan. Place the pan with the dough in the refrigerator, until ready to fill.
Preheat the oven to 430℉ (220℃).
Filling:
Mix flour, cinnamon in a bowl and set aside. Melt butter, sugars in a saucepan. Mix the water with the cornstarch, and pour it in the butter/sugar mixture. Add vanilla and the flour/cinnamon, stir the mixture while the sauce thickens.
Peel, core and slice the apples in thin slices. Do not soak the apples in water, this will make the filling to watery. Place the apple slices in the pie pan, and pour the sauce over the apples.
Brush the edges with egg wash. Roll out the rest of the dough for the lid, as thin as the other part. Place the lid on top, and firmly press the edges together to seal them. you can do this by hand or with a fork. Use the excess dough to cut out decorations for the pie.
Optional: brush the lid with egg wash and sprinkle with sugar on top.
Cut 4-8 slids in the dough lid, to allow the steam to escape during baking.
Bake the pie in the middle of the oven for 15 minutes. Lower the heat to 360℉ (180℃) and bake it for another 50 minutes until the pie is a deep golden brown.
Let the pie cool completely, before slicing. This part is the hardest. The smell of this delicious apple pie, makes you wanting to dive in immediately. But if you let it cool first, and then reheat, it will make the slicing so much easier.
Serve the pie with creme fraiche or a good vanilla ice cream.
Enjoy!
* Use apples that are good for cooking: Granny Smith, Pippin, Gravenstein, Mcintosh, Fugi, Jonathan, Jonagold or Golden Delicious.
