We always feel very lucky when we can share in the yield harvested by friends who own trees that bare fruit and nuts. Apples, peers and walnuts, we know what to do with them! Somehow they always taste better than the ones you buy in the store. Maybe it’s because they are simply left alone and not picked until perfectly ripe and ready, or have fallen out of the tree of their own free will.
The apples I used for this pie came from family friends who are lucky enough to own a big piece of land with impressive old trees. With this recipe you make a small pie, nice to share with your loved one, have a piece today and leave some for tomorrow. That’s how we try to do it. I say try, because I start by serving a slice neatly on a plate. But somehow the pie that’s left on the kitchen table gets smaller and smaller. So funny! Maybe it’s mice, or apple trolls. I know it’s not me!
Recipe for the Orchard Apple Pie
serves 4-6
165 g flour (all purpose flour)
6 g baking powder
110 g cold butter in little cubes
75 g soft light brown muscovado sugar
1/2 egg for the dough (25 g)
1/2 beaten egg for brushing
a pinch of salt
a little bit of lemon zest (optional)
3 big, tart apples
35 g butter and 50 grams of sugar for baking the apples
2 teaspoons / 6 g ground cinnamon
Making the apple pie
Peel and core the apples and cut them into cubes. Add the cinnamon to the apples and stir. Bake the apple cubes in the butter and sugar until slightly soft. Drain the apples and keep the juices! Mix flour, salt, baking powder, soft light brown sugar and butter in cubes (add a bit of lemon zest if you like). Rub with fingertips until you have a mixture resembling bread crumbs. Add the 1/2 egg and bring together to form a dough ball. Wrap with clingfilm, press into a disc shape and leave to rest in the fridge for 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 180ºC / 355ºF. Line a small round buttered ‘springform’ baking pan (approx 18 cm / 7 inches) with 2/3 of the dough. Add the prepared apples. Heat the juices you kept behind and cook them to a light syrup consistency. Pour this over the apples. Make a grid/lattice with the rest of the dough to cover the pie. Brush the top lightly with the beaten egg (add a bit of water to the egg to make it easier to brush). Bake the pie for about 40-45 minutes, depending on your oven. Leave to cool. You can eat it warm, which is very nice, but I like it even better when cooled completely. You get more taste!
nat says
Hi there, I am wanting to attempt this beauty of a pie you have made today but am I reading right? only 3 apples?
Weekend Bakers says
Hi Nat,
Yes, that is correct, but I should really make it clearer that the apples used are rather big (at least 200 g per apple, often more) and the pie is small (18 cm springform).
Happy Baking!
Marieke
jenneke says
Dutch appeltaart is superb. However, when I was in Zwolle a few years ago (visiting from Canada), my friend and I had coffee and appeltaart which had amandelspijs embedded into the crust base. It was beyond delectable! And I have searched for the recipe ever since, without success. Have you ever come across it?
Weekend Bakers says
Hi Jenneke,
I know what you mean! Adding amandelspijs to appeltaart is a thing you see more and more. I think it started years ago with a famous Dutch baker and after that it spread. It is not part of the original Dutch apple pie but I know some home bakers who also love to use it with their traditional recipe. Normally it is spread on the base.
It is quite easy to make the amandelspijs yourself. Provided you use good quality almonds without their skins, your result will be absolutely great. It basically consists of equal parts ground almonds and sugar, with a little water and a touch of lemon zest and just before use you add egg yolk to make it more supple. You can find the recipe here: www.weekendbakery.com/posts…ond-paste/
Enjoy your apple pie / appeltaart!
Greetings,
Marieke