Deep Dish Salted Butter Caramel Apple Pie

These are Cortland apples -very crunchy and not too sweet

A few weeks ago, I had the chance to teach a cooking class to two wonderful little girls.  They wanted to learn the technique for making one of their favourite deserts - apple pie.  


This worked out perfectly because apples are now in season.  They are plentiful at the market and we are very lucky to be able to select from a great variety of locally grown apples here in Quebec.   My preference is for the very hard (crunchy) apples that are not too sweet with Spartan, Cortland and Macintosh as my favourites.  For apple pie, I prefer the harder varieties as I like the fruit to still have a bit of texture once cooked. 

This pie is wonderful served warm with some good vanilla ice cream.  Enjoy!

You will need:  for one deep dish double crust pie

Crust:

• 2 cups (300g) of white flour
• 1 Tablespoon of sugar
• 1 cup (225g) of cold salted butter (=2 sticks)
• 1/3 cup (80ml) of cold water 
• 1 egg, beaten

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1. In a large bowl, mix together flour (300gr - 2 cups) and sugar (1 tsp);
2. Cut cold butter (1 cup - 225g) into small pieces and mix into the flour mixture using a pastry cutter until mixture resembles coarse bread crumbs or small peas (a food processor, using the pulse option, works also very well to do this);
3. In a separate bowl, whisk the cold water (1/3 cup - 80 ml) and beaten egg (you can also add 1/2 tsp of liquid vanilla here) and stir into the flour, butter mixture with a fork.  
4. When dough comes together, knead a few times (not too much) to create a smooth round dough - flatten it into a disk, cover in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least one hour.

For the apple filling:

• 8 large apples
• 1/4 cup (65g) of salted butter
• 3 tbsp (23g) of flour
• 1 tsp of pure vanilla extract
• 1 tsp of cinnamon
• pinch of nutmeg
• 1/2 cup (90g) of brown sugar
• 1/2 (120ml) cup of water
• 1 egg, separated (for egg wash)
• 1 tsp of milk or cream (for egg wash)
• granulated sugar to sprinkle over the top crust

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1. Melt the butter (1/4 cup - 60g)  in a medium saucepan over medium heat.  Once the butter is melted, add the flour (3 tbsp - 23g) and whisk to combine and create a paste (roux).  Cook for about one minute to remove the flour taste;
2. Add the brown sugar (1/2 cup - 90g), water (1/2 cup- 120ml), cinnamon (1 tsp) and vanilla extract (1 tsp) and nutmeg and whisk to combine.  Whisk until the carmel thickens (about 2 minutes).  Remove from heat.
3. Once the caramel is ready, you can begin to peel and slice the apples individually into the caramel mixture (avoid peeling and slicing the apples before as they will turn brown).  Once the apple is sliced, stir it gently into the caramel until it is well covered (this will also prevent the apples from browning).  Repeat this with all 8 apples.
4. Preheat the oven to 350F (180C);
5. Take the dough out of the refrigerator and separate into a piece that represents 2/3 of the dough for the bottom crust and 1/3 of the dough for the top crust;
6. Roll out the dough into a circle that will fit into the bottom of the pie plate with a 1/2 inch (13mm) overlap;
7. Separate the egg and brush the bottom dough with egg white to form a barrier that will help prevent the crust from getting soggy once the apples are cooked and have released their juice.  Return to the fridge while you are rolling out the top crust.
8. Roll out the top crust into a circle that will cover the pie plate, cut shapes or designs (your choice) that will allow the steam to escape while the pie is cooking;
9. Fill the bottom crust with the apple caramel mixture and brush the edge with the egg white to help seal it to the top crust;
10. Fold the top crust in half and lift over the apples to cover one half of the pie.  Unfold to cover the apples completely and press the edges together to form a seal.  Trim the edge so that it is even all around and crimp to create the desired design (here is a wonderful video from Fine Cooking showing how to create a decorative edge).
11. Mix the egg yolk and milk (1 tsp) together with a fork to create an egg wash and brush evenly over the top crust of the pie.  Sprinkle with the sugar and bake for 35 - 40 minutes in the bottom section of your oven.  Turn the pie around a few times to ensure an even golden crust.

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