Dutch apple pie: A creamy twist on a classic delight

In its various styles from around the world, Apple pie has common elements in the recipes. The essential base is made from good quality flour, kneaded efficiently, and prebaked. There must also be delicate pastry on top—either as crumble or the characteristic lattice seen in American-style apple pie. What sets the recipes from Dutch blogs apart is the addition of thick cream when preparing the apples for the pie. Bloggers have a neat trick for this.

Stewed apple pie apples are often made in autumn and preserved in jars. This is the easiest way to speed up the preparation of this dessert. However, the cream trick won't work because the apples must be sautéed with butter, sugar, and cinnamon first, then drained (so they aren't too full of liquid), and then mixed with cream. The best choice is sweet cream with 36% fat, as its consistency blends perfectly with the fruits.

High-quality butter ensures the ideal structure of an apple pie with delicate pastry shining through. It must be properly chilled and then chopped with other ingredients or kneaded using a planetary mixer to avoid warming the ingredients. You can prepare the delicate pastry even two days in advance and store it in the refrigerator until use.

Ingredients for the pastry:

• 140 g cold unsalted butter,
• a pinch of salt,
• 100 g powdered sugar,
• 450 g wheat flour,
• breadcrumbs for sprinkling.

Ingredients for the filling - apples for the pie:

• 2 kg whole apples,
• 50 g butter,
• 3 tablespoons brown sugar,
• 6 tablespoons lemon juice,
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon,
• 100 g 36% cream.

Ingredients for the crumble:

• 125 g butter,
• 70 g brown sugar,
• 150 g wheat flour.

Preparation:

1. Transfer the pastry ingredients to a board, chop with a knife, and briefly knead the mixture. Then, set it aside in the refrigerator for at least half an hour.
2. Wash and dry the apples, then remove the cores. You can use a special tool to cut out the whole core. Slice the fruits into eighths, then drizzle with lemon juice.
3. Melt 50 g of butter in a skillet. Add the apples. Cook while adding sugar and cinnamon. Transfer the fruits to a sieve placed over a bowl.
4. In the meantime, roll out the pastry, grease the baking form, and sprinkle with breadcrumbs. Bake for about 12 minutes at 180 degrees Celsius.
5. Pour the cream into the skillet used for the apples, adding the liquid that drained from them. Keep on the hob for a while until it thickens. Finally, gently add the apples and mix.
6. Transfer the apples onto the prebaked base.
7. Quickly knead the crumble ingredients and sprinkle it over the apples. Bake everything for about 40 minutes in the preheated oven.