Apple Pie

Copyright 2012 LtDan'sKitchen blogs

Apple pie is one of my weaknesses as a baker. I love me some really good apple pie but I cannot seem to bake my own. The only time I came close was using a recipe that my friend Jenn gave me a long time ago. It was written on a sticky note so of course, I lost it. I have baked an apple pie only once after losing that seemingly magic recipe and to be honest, it was not as good. However, I am willing to give it another go. I just think that you need at least one good apple pie recipe in your repertoire and I hope that this will be it. My friend Sunny has an Apple Pie Cobbler recipe that is delicious but she has yet to write it down for me. After starting this blog for her, you would think that she could at least send a single recipe my way. : )

Copyright 2012 LtDan'sKitchen blogs

Anyway, let's talk about the elephant in the room which always bothered me whenever I bake an apple pie. I'm talking about the giant gaping hole that is formed in between the top crust and the apple filling after baking. I've always wondered how commercial apple pies come up with such a perfect looking pie sans the flavor but homemade pies that taste like heaven always end up looking like a child's art project gone awry. With the quest to find the trade secret on how to prevent this, I stumbled upon this blog which tackles this exact problem and with pictures to prove their claim. Armed with this new information, the recipe I'm using is roughly adapted from the Joy of Baking blog apple pie recipe and infused with the new techniques from the new blog that I found.

Apple Pie

10-12 apples ( Granny Smith, Braeburn, and Honey Crisp)
3/4 cup light brown sugar
1 tbsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 1/2 tbsp corn starch
2 tbsp cold unsalted butter, diced
1 recipe of Pate Brisee 

1. Peel, core and slice the apples thinly. Add the lemon juice, salt, brown 
    sugar, cinnamon and corn starch and toss. 

2. In a large pan over medium heat, cook the apple mixture until the apples 
    are soft but not mushy. Remove the apples using a slotted spoon and 
    transfer into another bowl. Cookt he sugary syrup until thick and dark 
    golden brown. Cool and mix with the cooled apples. 

Copyright 2012 LtDan'sKitchen blogs

3. Preheat the oven to 
    425°F. Line a 9-inch 
    pie plate with one of 
    the pie crust and prick 
    the bottom part with 
    the tines of a fork. Fill 
    with the cooled apple 
    filling and spread 
    evenly.  Dot with the 
    cold unsalted butter.  

4. Fold the second pie 
    crust into quarters and 
    cut 1-inch slits on the 
    folded parts. Unfold and use to cover the pie. Seal the pie by crimping the 
    edges of the top and lower pastry crust into a flute using your fingers.

5. Cover the edges with 
    foil to prevent it form 
    overbrowning and bake 
    the pie on a baking pan 
    at the lowest level of 
    the oven for 30 minutes. 

6. Remove the foil and 
    continue to bake for 
    another 20 minutes or 
    until the pie crust is 
    golden brown. 

7. Let cool for a couple of hours before cutting into the pie.