Having previously suggested which apples would be perfect for baking, I got so inspired I decided to make an apple pie. This isn’t just any apple pie however, but an authentic Dutch apple pie made with a recipe that goes way back in my family. Literally, the Dutch apple pie recipe dates back to Medieval times. Blame it on the apple trees in our garden or the love for baking that we have, but any birthday that took place in autumn would have this apple pie present.
While Dutch cuisine is anything but eloquent, the Dutch Apple Pie is the one dish that the Dutch are applauded for. What makes it unique from other apple pies is the filling and the crust. Normally it’s made with raisins, cinnamon, and lemon juice, and may either have just tart apples, or use a variety of tart and soft. The crust is slightly crumbly but still manages to hold its shape while having a soft and light texture.
Here in Holland you will find almost every café offering Koffie met appeltart,’ because there’s no better mid-afternoon snack than some coffee with apple pie. When asked if you want it ‘met slagroom’, meaning ‘with whipped cream’, always accept it. Nowadays, a rainy sunday afternoon is just as good of an excuse if you want to make something special. Maybe it’s the vanilla in the crust or maybe it’s the crust that you make yourself, but this apple pie is the perfect way to warm up on those cold autumn evenings.
Authentic Dutch Apple Pie
Ingredients
Instructions
Preheat the oven to its highest setting. Once your pie is in the oven you can turn it back to 180°C, but this ensures that your oven is sufficiently heated before your pie goes in.
Mix the flour, 100 g of caster sugar, and salt in a bowl.
Cut the butter into small pieces and add to the flour mixture.
Add the egg, water, and the vanilla extract and knead all together with your hands till you get a souple dough. You’ll notice the dough gets very sticky at first, just keep kneading till all the dough is mixed into a ball (See step below).
Keep kneading and it should look something like this.
Make sure to check for lumps of butter. If you find this you will need to re-knead into a ball and roll out again. Otherwise if you have large butter spots these will welt and create holes in your dough.
Wrap the dough in cling wrap and leave in the fridge for about 30 minutes. Don’t worry about it getting too cold, you can even leave it in for longer. Make the filling while the dough is chilling.
To make the filling, peel the apples, remove the core, and cut them into small chunks.
Mix the apples together with the crystal sugar, vanilla sugar, raisins, cinnamon, and custard powder.
Take your sufficiently chilled dough out of the fridge. Divide it and put one-third of it back in the cling wrap to chill in the fridge again. This will be used for the lattice of the apple pie.
Roll out the other two-thirds of the dough on a flat surface covered with flour. Try to make a somewhat round shape larger than your springform pan.
Coat your springform pan with butter and cover with dough. Make sure there are no cracks in the dough. Put the breadcrumbs on the bottom (this will soak up the liquid from your apples and hopefully make your bottom more crusty).
Add the filling on top of the breadcrumbs and press down gently.
Take the rest of your dough from the fridge and roll it out quite thinly. Make long vertical strips of about a thumb wide. These will be used for the lattice of the apple pie.
Lay them over the pie in a lattice shape. Press the edges over the strips firmly. Coat the dough (and the dough only) with your egg yolk, this will make the pie shine.
Put your pie into the oven, turn the heat back to 180°C and bake for about 45 minutes. Enjoy!