Make Ahead

The Best and Prettiest Apple Pie

by:
March 10, 2011
3.7
3 Ratings
  • Serves 8 to 10
Author Notes

I was baking this pie for many years.
It comes out very tasty and looks different and original than any pies I ever seen or tasted.
The pie could be made with any fruit (pears, apricots, plums or cherries).
My favorite is sour cherries, but they have a very short season and the frozen ones are too wet.
Kukla

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • For the crust and apple filling
  • 2 cups all purpose flour
  • 2 sticks cold butter
  • 5 egg yolks
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 tablespoon lemon zest
  • 2 pounds apples (Granny Smiths or Golden Delicious)
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • 1 tablespoon flour or cornstarch
  • Juice of 1 lemon
  • For the almond fluffy filling
  • 5 egg whites
  • 5 tablespoons sugar
  • 1 cup almond flour or finely ground almonds
  • 1/2 teaspoon almond or vanilla extract
Directions
  1. For the crust and apple filling
  2. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Butter and cover the bottom and sides of a spring form with parchment paper. Pill and core the apples, cut them each in half and then slice thinly. In a bowl sprinkle the apples with lemon juice, 1 tablespoon sugar, flour or cornstarch, cinnamon and nutmeg. Mix gently to cover all the apples. Set aside.
  3. Separate the eggs. Cut the butter into small pieces. In a mixing bowl add the flour, butter, egg yolks and sugar, salt and lemon zest. With your finger tips crumble all the ingredients until everything is well combined to a uniform crumbled mixture. Refrigerate while preparing the fluffy filling.
  1. For the almond fluffy filling
  2. Beat the egg whites with a pinch of salt until soft picks form. Slowly add sugar and continue beating until stiff picks form. Gently fold in the almond flour and almond or vanilla extract.
  3. Sprinkle 2/3 of the crumbled mixture on the bottom of the spring form; then nicely lay out all the apples. Cover with the fluffy filling, top with the remaining crumbled mixture. Bake in the middle rack of the oven. After 15 minutes lower the temperature to 350 degrees. It usually takes one hour to bake. If the top browns to fast, cover the last 15 or 20 minutes with a round piece of parchment paper or foil. Cool to room temperature on a wire rack. Serve with a dollop of whipped cream or your favorite ice cream. Enjoy!

See what other Food52ers are saying.

  • Rmadievsky
    Rmadievsky
  • Christine
    Christine
  • hathawas
    hathawas
  • jschwartz
    jschwartz

14 Reviews

Christine October 11, 2014
i just made this and i'm super excited to try it tomorrow! :) i was a little bit shocked at the amount of butter and was wondering if it might be a mistake, but it just came out of the oven and it looks great! I do have a few questions, though, that I'm hoping you can answer!:

- How did you get your filling to be so pretty and pink? especially after peeling?
- The crumble felt really buttery and hard to crumble, almost like just trying to crumble sticks of butter--is this normal?
- for the crust, you just press in the pan, yes? including the sides?

Mine came out looking more like a cobbler than the above photo.

I didn't use any sugar in the fruit mix (although I sorta wish I put some honey or agave to sweeten it, now), and I cut the sugar down to 1/2 cup instead of 3/4. can't wait to try it tomorrow! Thank you so much for sharing the recipe!!!
 
Christine October 11, 2014
oh! also, i subbed Cup4Cup gluten free flour for the AP!
 
hathawas March 13, 2011
Yummiest pie ever!!! A must have recipe :)
 
jschwartz March 12, 2011
AMAZING pie!!!
 
LorissaLovesPie! March 11, 2011
I'm a pie fanatic, so it takes a lot to please me when it comes to pie. This pie recipe, however, made one of the best pies I have ever had! Great, great, GREAT recipe!
 
bobbylieb March 11, 2011
Without a doubt the best pie I have ever had!! Thank you so much for this recipe!
 
Fishstix312 March 11, 2011
SOOOO DELICIOUS!
 
amadievsky March 11, 2011
Marvelous! My kids were dying over this. It was so good, I couldn't even keep my hands off it! Splendid, simply marvelous. Keep it up!
 
jason4522 March 10, 2011
best apple pie ever! My friend's grandma uses the EXACT SAME RECIPE and it's amazing :)
 
TajMowry March 10, 2011
This recipe is a winner! Made it for my boys and they raved about it! Absolutely delicious!
 
Barack O. March 10, 2011
Thanks so much for publishing this recipe. Tried it once and loved it. Keep up the good work!
 
laynekaplan March 10, 2011
best pie ever! everyone loves it!
 
afphillips March 10, 2011
Greatest pie I've ever had!!! My mouth is literally watering just thinking about it.
 
Rmadievsky March 10, 2011
Made this pie today. SO DELICIOUS!!! 5 Stars!