I have been on a quest of sorts to find the best recipe for Dutch Apple pie. Over the years it has become a traditional item for occasions in our family. There is no one absolute go-to recipe in my arsenal, but I would love for there to be. So many options, so little time. Do any of you have a particular favorite? Do you find yourself pondering things like apple type, butter vs margarine, cinnamon in the crumbs, lemon juice, additional fruits, boxed pie crust vs scratch? What adjustments do you make if using additional fruits? Have you tried lime juice?
My preferences:
++ Butter always, unless out.
++ For the top crumble coating: Extra cinnamon please, and perhaps a smidge of nutmeg tossed in.
Anything else is pretty negotiable. All suggestions appreciated. How do you like your pie?
I am Dutch, so I guess any recipe I give you is a Dutch one
This recipe is from a baking contest on tv. I love this kind of apple pie!
Dough
200 grams of soft butter (plus extra for greasing)
160 grams of brown caster sugar
0.50 teaspoon cinnamon (ground)
300 grams of white flour
a pinch of salt
1 egg
breadcrumbs for dusting
Apple filling
100 grams of raisins
8 pieces of Jonagold apples
(optional 100 grams of peeled walnuts)
4 tablespoons sugar
1 packet of vanilla-flavored sugar
3 teaspoons of cinnamon
Compose
1 egg before covering
Classic Applepie
Preparation:
Grease a spring form with a diameter of 24 centimeters and dust with flour.
Preheat the oven to 180 ° C.
Dough:
Mix the soft butter with the brown caster sugar and cinnamon.
Sift the flour with a pinch of salt over the butter mixture and add 1 egg.
Knead to a supple dough and leave covered in the fridge for at least 15 minutes.
Roll out 2/3 of the dough and cover the spring form with this.
Spread the breadcrumbs on the bottom.
Place the spring form in the refrigerator to rest further.
Apple filling:
Let the raisins soak in warm water for 15 minutes.
Peel the apples and cut into segments.
Sift the raisins.
Mix the apple pieces with the raisins, (walnuts), sugar, vanilla sugar and cinnamon.
Compose:
Spoon the filling into the cake pan.
Roll out the remaining dough and cover the top of the cake with this.
Brush the top with a beaten egg.
Please only use butter! Way better! I like to use lemon juice, just poor it over the apple pieces.
The breadcrumbs will help to get the bottom of the pie nice and crusty!
Some people like to spread apricot jam over the pie while hot. It makes the pie nice and shiny and the apricot goes well with the apples.
My grandma’s recipe is a little different because it doesn’t use cinnamon, so it may not be what you’re looking for, but I’m going to post it anyway because it’s really really nice.
Recipe is the same as @wendiek but for the dough, I don’t add cinnamon, and the filling is apple + 1 table spoon of lemon juice + 75 grams of regular sugar + 2 tablespoons of custard powder. The top is brushed with egg and 2 tablespoons of apricot jam.
We also make pastry with apple filling (appelflap) and I do put cinnamon and nutmeg in these. I like to make a big batch of filling and can this (apple, white sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg canned in sugar syrup). The advantage of using canned over fresh is that fresh apples still contain a lot of water and this will make the pastry soggy. There’s also a type of pastry that contains a whole apple (appelbol) but we always used to get these from the bakery so there’s no family recipe.
Mhm, this talking about apple pie makes me hungry!
Your recipe sounds good @Immaculata!
We made that too. Use a complete apple without the peel and apple core (we use a tool for that), fill the core with butter, brown sugar, cinnamon and if you like some raisins. Bake for about 20 minutes in a preheated oven at 180 ° C.
I just found a piece of apple pie in our freezer, so I put that in the oven… Mhmmm, apple pie!
AIMR
(Linda -2024 Choose Projects that You Want to Do :us:)
6
My family makes apple dumplings each fall and we freeze some to have all through winter…it tastes like a mini-apple pie…we use whole apples and wrap them in pastry…we fill the core with butter, sugar and cinnamon…some of us like raisins and nuts…I like them plain…both of the real “Dutch” recipes sound delicious!!!
Yes! It tastes like vanilla! I add it to the breadcrumbs on the bottom of the pie. All to prevent the bottom to become soggy, bleh!
Yes, you should give it a try!
Custard powder is kind of old fashioned in here now but my grandma’s used to use it all the time. They used to make custard sauce to serve with the apple pie, ot custard pudding. Custard cream can be used to fill sweet buns with (puddingbroodje) or as an ingredient in a pound cake.
I got hungry too but luckily I’ve got some pumpkin cranberry bread in the freezer. That’s a recipe from an American friend, using pumpkin for baking is really unusual here, but my family loves it now.
@wendiek this is an intrigueing idea. Anything to help keep bottom crusts from sogging is a plus. Pie crust has never been a specialty of mine, so I especially appreciate this tip.
(Idea – seasoned croutons, smashed into crumbs, for use with vegetable based pie or pot pie crusts :))
The apricot jam in both @wendiek and @Immaculata’s recipes sounds yummy. I can’t recall my family using jam with pie, but they did like apple pie (usually the two crust variety) with a chunk of cheddar cheese. As a child that seemed a strange combination.
Such a fun family event! Doing things together, making memories as well as delicious treats
I should have specified above about my cinnamon fetish:
This was in reference to the crumb topping and not necessarily to the apple filling. I think I could enjoy the crumb topping as a candy or side dish on its own if given a chance lol. Not smart or healthy though.
Same here! The tips, recipes, and new things are awesome!
Sometimes I like to make a pie with a crunchy crust on top too. For that I mix flour with chunks of butter and oatmeal flakes and if you like cinnamon that much, I would add it to that too. Knead the dough, but make sure not to make it too smooth, it should stay crumbled. Spread it over the filling and bake as usual.
Yes, it is but I like to use it. It makes a nice pudding or custard in a heartbeat.
I always love to read tips on baking! Especially recipes that are new to me! The hard thing is sometimes to get the ingredients! (Or to understand what it exactly is haha)
The oatmeal crumble on top sounds scrumptuous! It would make a lovely presentation as well.
I love learning these as well! And you are right, sometimes the same ingredients are not as common in all areas, but I love how the people here share their experiences and cultures. Thank you for that!
This all sounds so yummy. Whenever I make an apple pie or apple dessert I like to use a mix of apple types (like a granny Smith, a honey crisp, a pink lady, etc.) That way I get some that stay kinda firm and together and some that kinda melt down into delicious apple slush when baked. And I always add some salt even if the recipe doesn’t call for it. (now I want apple pie).
