It's this time of the year again and an abundance of apples are available all over the island, so what better opportunity to bake a traditional Dutch apple pie. The smell of butter, baked pie, spices and apples swirls through the house, how delightful!
When I grew up in the seventies and eighties, pies and cakes where for special occasions, one of such a special occasion was to go to Amsterdam for some shopping and afterwards to settle down in a nice cafe for hot choco and apple pie! The funny part is that I got this recipe from a very dear cypriot friend, who on her turn received the recipe from a dutch friend, we were all living in the same small town at that time and soon the recipe was shared. It is in our fav recipe file for over 25 years and I make it very often. Lately I added some allspice into the dough and the result was amazing especially around Christmas time.
Eventhough my site is Cyprus Cooking and as it started out like that, living in Cyprus for over 30 years now slowly slowly the idea crept in to add some family favorite recipes and since I am from the Netherlands, I kind of allow myself to add some Dutch and international recipes! I hope you enjoy this pie as much as we do!
Ingredients:
Ingredients for the dough:
300 gr flour plain
180 gr unsalted butter at room temperature
150 gr fine sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon baking powder
Ingredients for the filling:
500 gr apples; peeled, cored and diced
100 gr almonds pieces roasted with of without peel or walnut pieces(optional)
50 gr raisins
2 tablespoons light brown sugar (demerara)
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 egg to brush the pie
Method:
For the dough: add all ingredients in a bowl and either by hand or by mixer with a dough hook, knead to a soft dough. Wrap in clingfilm and store in the fridge for at least half an hour.
For the filling: wash, peel and cut the apples in cubes, add the roasted almonds or walnuts, add the raisins, the sugar and the cinnamon, hussle so all ingredients are mixed, set aside.
Turn on the oven (conventional) to 175-180 degrees celsius.
Line the bottom of a 24 diameter spring form with baking paper and brush some soft butter on the sides.
Take the dough from the fridge and divide as follows: 300 gr for the bottom, 200 gr for the side and 200 gr for the strips on top.
Line the bottom of the form with the dough, use you hands to spread the dough,
devide the part for the side in 4 parts, roll each part out so it fills a quarter of the side, place all 4 parts in the form and spread by hand to cover the side to the top,
add the filling.
The last part of dough to divide in 10 uneven parts, roll into strips and place on top of the apple filling in a square pattern (see pictures).
Brush with the beaten egg and place in the preheated oven.
Bake for 35-45 minutes and then cover the pie with aluminum foil and bake till the apples are soft, now this depends on the kind of apples used and the size of the parts. The filling should be soft and the biscuit nicely browned.
Serve with a rather big serving of fresh cream.
Keep the pie in the fridge up to 4 days.
Enjoy - καλή όρεξη!!