Bready or Not: Appeltaart

I love my traditional Caramel Apple Pie recipe, but this deep-dish apple pie is something extraordinary! It uses a springform pan.

Brace yourself for a lot of pictures. This is one of those rare times when my end result looked exactly like the photo in the magazine.

It’s a photogenic pie, isn’t it?

This Appeltaart is as delicious as it looks, too. My husband and my dad are hardcore apple pie lovers. It’s probably one of their all-time favorite foods. This pie rated VERY highly for both of them.

The directions look long, but really, it’s not an intimidating pie. I know a lot of folks hate rolling out pie crusts–well, this is the recipe for you! You press most of the dough into the pan and then slice strips for the lattice on top.

The original recipe had raisins in it–which was blasphemous to my family. I omitted the raisins and added more cinnamon.

It would be easy to modify the recipe more. Add a drizzle of caramel or dulce de leche. Try adding some nutmeg, cloves, or cardamom. Or if the making the lattice top worries you, tuck that dough away for other purposes, and throw together a crumb topping. Or instead of cutting strips for the lattice, roll out the dough and use small cookie cutters shaped like leaves or other things.

Whatever you do, I bet you’ll be amazed at the Appeltaart. This will be the showcase for your holiday dessert table… and something special to make all year round.

Modified from a recipe in Martha Stewart Living magazine; also online.

Print Recipe

Bready or Not: Appeltaart

This gorgeous deep-dish apple pie is made in a springform pan. If you're intimidated by pie crusts, you'll love the press-in crust for this recipe! Modified from an Appeltaart recipe originally featured in Martha Stewart Living.

Course: Breakfast, Dessert, Snack

Keyword: apple, cake, lemon, pie

Author: Beth Cato

Ingredients

Dough

• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour plus more for surface
• 1 Tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar packed
• 3/4 cup unsalted butter 1 1/2 sticks, cut into small pieces, plus more for pan
• 1 large egg
• 2 Tablespoons water
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Filling

• 2 1/4 pounds Granny Smith apples peeled, cored, and cut into chunks (6 cups)
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 3 teaspoons cinnamon
• pinch salt
• 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 1/2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour plus more as needed
• 1 large egg lightly beaten

Instructions

Dough:

• In a bowl, stir together the all-purpose flour, baking powder, salt, and brown sugar. Add the butter and work it in until only pea-size pieces are visible.
• In a small bowl, whisk together the egg, water, and vanilla, then pour into the dry mix. Mix until the dough makes a ball. Form about two-thirds of the dough into one disk and remaining third of dough into another disk. Separately wrap each portion in plastic wrap. Refrigerate them until firm, about 1 hour.

Filling:

• Toss together the apples, granulated sugar, cinnamon, salt, lemon juice, and 1 1/2 tablespoons flour. Set aside but stir every so often as you make other preparations.
• Preheat the oven to 350-degrees. Prepare a 9-inch round springform pan by cutting parchment paper to fit the circle inside. Use butter or Pam to adhere the parchment in the pan, then fully grease the top of the parchment and the sides of the pan.
• Lightly flour a surface. Take out your large dough disk and roll it out. It's okay if it's fragmented. Take the pieces and press them into the bottom and up the sides of the pan. Sprinkle some flour over the dough.
• Use a slotted spoon to transfer the apple filling into the crust; you'll discard any leftover juice. Roll out the other dough disk to be about 1/4-inch thick. Use a pizza cutter or knife to cut the dough into thick strips. Lay half of the strips over the filling, then do the other half crossing the other way. Press the edges of the strips into the crust at the sides.
• Lightly beat the egg and brush the lattice with the egg wash.
• Bake the pie until the crust is golden brown and apples are tender when stabbed with a fork, about 1 hour 10-20 minutes. Check it at the 40 minute point and cover it with foil if it starts to look too dark.
• Let it cool on a wire rack until sides of tart pull away from pan, about 30 minutes. Unsnap the springform pan and remove the side circle; keep the appeltaart on the base for convenient serving. Let it cool for an least an hour before cutting in.
• OM NOM NOM!