Appeltaart (Dutch Apple Pie)
By Andrea GearyPublished on August 6, 2024
Time
2½ hours, plus 4 hours cooling
Yield
Serves 8 to 10
Ingredients
APPLES
4 pounds Golden Delicious apples, peeled, cored, and cut into ¼-inch-thick wedges¼ cup packed (1¾ ounces) dark brown sugar ½ cup golden raisins (optional)1 tablespoon cornstarch 1 tablespoon lemon juice 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon ¼ teaspoon ground ginger ¼ teaspoon ground cardamom ¼ teaspoon ground coriander ⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg Pinch table saltCRUST
2½ cups (12½ ounces) all-purpose flour ¾ cup packed (5¼ ounces) dark brown sugar 1 tablespoon baking powder ½ teaspoon table salt 1 large egg, beaten14 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and hot1 tablespoon waterWhipped cream or vanilla ice cream
Before You Begin
Pink Lady apples may be substituted for Golden Delicious but might require a bit more cooking in step 1. Use freshly opened brown sugar to avoid sugar lumps in the crust. If your springform pan is not nonstick, grease it lightly before pressing in the dough. The crust texture is best the day it's baked; store leftovers at room temperature for up to 2 days.
Instructions
- FOR THE APPLES: Combine apples and sugar in Dutch oven. Cook, covered, over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until all apples are slightly softened and about half are just becoming translucent, 8 to 14 minutes (it's OK if a few pieces break). Transfer apples and juices to rimmed baking sheet set on wire rack. Spread apples into even layer and let cool, about 30 minutes. While apples are cooling, prepare crust.
- FOR THE CRUST: Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in bowl and rub together with your fingers to combine and to break up any lumps of sugar. Set aside 1 tablespoon egg for egg wash. Add remaining egg, melted butter, and water to flour mixture and stir to combine. Transfer mixture to counter (do not wash bowl) and knead until dough is smooth and uniform. Shape into 9-inch cylinder and cut crosswise into 3 equal portions.
- Place 1 portion of dough on 16 by 12-inch sheet of parchment and press into 8 by 4-inch rectangle. Cover with second piece of parchment and roll into rough 12 by 10-inch rectangle. Transfer to second rimmed baking sheet and refrigerate. Crumble second portion of dough into bottom of 9-inch springform pan. Press to cover bottom of pan. Break off 1-inch chunks of remaining portion of dough and press into sides of pan. Refrigerate.
- Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 375 degrees. Using your hands or slotted spoon, transfer apples to now-empty bowl, leaving any juices on sheet. Add raisins, if using; cornstarch; lemon juice; cinnamon; ginger; cardamom; coriander; nutmeg; and salt and stir until combined. Transfer to dough-lined pan. Spread evenly and press gently to compact. Smooth top.
- Transfer rolled dough, still in parchment, to counter, with long side parallel to edge of counter. Peel parchment from dough and return parchment to baking sheet. Using ruler and sharp knife or pizza cutter, cut dough lengthwise into eight 1¼-inch-wide strips. Using offset spatula to lift dough, place 4 strips equidistant from each other on top of pie (if strips differ in length, place longer strips in middle and shorter strips at sides), letting sides of strips hang over edge of pan. Place remaining 4 strips on top, arranging them at 45-degree angle to first set of strips. Gently press strips down so they rest against filling (it's OK if ends of some strips crack). Trim ends of strips so they are flush with pan edge. Place pie on prepared sheet. (Pie can be wrapped and refrigerated for up to 24 hours.)
- Brush top of pie with reserved egg. Bake for 45 minutes. Cover loosely with aluminum foil and continue to bake until skewer can be easily inserted into apples, about 30 minutes longer. Transfer pan to wire rack. Run paring knife around top edge of pie. Carefully release clip and remove ring. Let cool completely, at least 4 hours. Using sharp knife in gentle sawing motion to prevent top crust from crumbling, cut into wedges. Serve with whipped cream or ice cream.
Time
2½ hours, plus 4 hours coolingYield
Serves 8 to 10Ingredients
APPLES
4 pounds Golden Delicious apples, peeled, cored, and cut into ¼-inch-thick wedges
¼ cup packed (1¾ ounces) dark brown sugar
½ cup golden raisins (optional)
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground ginger
¼ teaspoon ground cardamom
¼ teaspoon ground coriander
⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg
Pinch table salt
CRUST
2½ cups (12½ ounces) all-purpose flour
¾ cup packed (5¼ ounces) dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon table salt
1 large egg, beaten
14 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and hot
1 tablespoon water
Whipped cream or vanilla ice cream
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
APPLES
4 pounds Golden Delicious apples, peeled, cored, and cut into ¼-inch-thick wedges
¼ cup packed (1¾ ounces) dark brown sugar
½ cup golden raisins (optional)
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground ginger
¼ teaspoon ground cardamom
¼ teaspoon ground coriander
⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg
Pinch table salt
CRUST
2½ cups (12½ ounces) all-purpose flour
¾ cup packed (5¼ ounces) dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon table salt
1 large egg, beaten
14 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and hot
1 tablespoon water
Whipped cream or vanilla ice cream
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
APPLES
4 pounds Golden Delicious apples, peeled, cored, and cut into ¼-inch-thick wedges
¼ cup packed (1¾ ounces) dark brown sugar
½ cup golden raisins (optional)
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground ginger
¼ teaspoon ground cardamom
¼ teaspoon ground coriander
⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg
Pinch table salt
CRUST
2½ cups (12½ ounces) all-purpose flour
¾ cup packed (5¼ ounces) dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon table salt
1 large egg, beaten
14 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and hot
1 tablespoon water
Whipped cream or vanilla ice cream
Test Kitchen Techniques
Why This Recipe Works
Dutch appeltaart is a giant among pies: a stately apple dessert featuring densely packed, liberally spiced, lightly sweetened apples (and often raisins) encased in a substantial, cookie-like crust. It's both an everyday treat and a centerpiece of Dutch celebrations, especially birthdays. To make a no-fuss dough, we melted the butter instead of cutting it into the dry mixture and simply stirred it into the dry ingredients—no mixer or food processor required. The result was very malleable, allowing us to press dough into the bottom and sides of the springform pan like Play-Doh. It was also easy to roll out and cut the top portion into wide strips, which we arranged in a crisscross pattern that allowed the filling to vent, thus avoiding a soggy bottom crust. The addition of an egg and a generous amount of baking powder gave the crust a fine, crisp texture. Gently parcooking the apples converted their pectin to a more heat-stable form, which kept them from becoming mushy when enclosed in the pie and cooked further in the oven. Adding a small amount of cornstarch to the parcooked, drained apples and packing them snugly into the formed crust ensured that the filling was compact and appropriately thickened so we could slice it into tidy, towering wedges.
Want more? Read the whole storyBefore You Begin
Pink Lady apples may be substituted for Golden Delicious but might require a bit more cooking in step 1. Use freshly opened brown sugar to avoid sugar lumps in the crust. If your springform pan is not nonstick, grease it lightly before pressing in the dough. The crust texture is best the day it's baked; store leftovers at room temperature for up to 2 days.
Instructions
- FOR THE APPLES: Combine apples and sugar in Dutch oven. Cook, covered, over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until all apples are slightly softened and about half are just becoming translucent, 8 to 14 minutes (it's OK if a few pieces break). Transfer apples and juices to rimmed baking sheet set on wire rack. Spread apples into even layer and let cool, about 30 minutes. While apples are cooling, prepare crust.
- FOR THE CRUST: Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in bowl and rub together with your fingers to combine and to break up any lumps of sugar. Set aside 1 tablespoon egg for egg wash. Add remaining egg, melted butter, and water to flour mixture and stir to combine. Transfer mixture to counter (do not wash bowl) and knead until dough is smooth and uniform. Shape into 9-inch cylinder and cut crosswise into 3 equal portions.
- Place 1 portion of dough on 16 by 12-inch sheet of parchment and press into 8 by 4-inch rectangle. Cover with second piece of parchment and roll into rough 12 by 10-inch rectangle. Transfer to second rimmed baking sheet and refrigerate. Crumble second portion of dough into bottom of 9-inch springform pan. Press to cover bottom of pan. Break off 1-inch chunks of remaining portion of dough and press into sides of pan. Refrigerate.
- Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 375 degrees. Using your hands or slotted spoon, transfer apples to now-empty bowl, leaving any juices on sheet. Add raisins, if using; cornstarch; lemon juice; cinnamon; ginger; cardamom; coriander; nutmeg; and salt and stir until combined. Transfer to dough-lined pan. Spread evenly and press gently to compact. Smooth top.
- Transfer rolled dough, still in parchment, to counter, with long side parallel to edge of counter. Peel parchment from dough and return parchment to baking sheet. Using ruler and sharp knife or pizza cutter, cut dough lengthwise into eight 1¼-inch-wide strips. Using offset spatula to lift dough, place 4 strips equidistant from each other on top of pie (if strips differ in length, place longer strips in middle and shorter strips at sides), letting sides of strips hang over edge of pan. Place remaining 4 strips on top, arranging them at 45-degree angle to first set of strips. Gently press strips down so they rest against filling (it's OK if ends of some strips crack). Trim ends of strips so they are flush with pan edge. Place pie on prepared sheet. (Pie can be wrapped and refrigerated for up to 24 hours.)
- Brush top of pie with reserved egg. Bake for 45 minutes. Cover loosely with aluminum foil and continue to bake until skewer can be easily inserted into apples, about 30 minutes longer. Transfer pan to wire rack. Run paring knife around top edge of pie. Carefully release clip and remove ring. Let cool completely, at least 4 hours. Using sharp knife in gentle sawing motion to prevent top crust from crumbling, cut into wedges. Serve with whipped cream or ice cream.
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