Fall

Salted Cider Caramel Apple Pie

by:
November  8, 2015
3
1 Ratings
Salted Cider Caramel Apple Pie
Photo by Kate Bakes
  • Makes one tall 9-inch pie
Author Notes

This recipe is a wonderful combination of Erin McDowell's Cider Caramel Apple Pie (https://food52.com/recipes...) and Four & Twenty Blackbirds Salted Caramel Apple Pie (http://www.cookingchanneltv.com/recipes/four-and-twenty-blackbirds-salted-caramel-apple-pie.html) with a few minor tweaks of my own. Sweet, salty, spiced, and tall, this pie is a crowd-pleaser, both for the eyes and the tastebuds. —Kate Bakes

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • 1/2 gallon apple cider
  • 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons flaky sea salt (like Maldon's)
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 3 lemons
  • 8 large baking apples (I use Honeycrisp), peeled and thinly sliced
  • 1 cup dark brown sugar
  • 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 1 pinch ground ginger
  • Double batch of pie dough (I doubled https://food52.com/recipes...)
  • 1 egg, for egg wash
  • Turbinado sugar, for sprinkling
  • Flaky sea salt, for sprinkling
Directions
  1. Pour the cider in a deep, wide pot and bring to a boil. Boil for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, until the cider reduces dramatically and starts to foam. (No need to stir during this time, just keep an eye on it once you start to near the 1 hour mark).
  2. Stir the softened butter, sea salt, and vanilla into the reduced cider until combined. Pour into a heat proof bowl to cool (about 20 minutes).
  3. Roll out half of your pie dough to 1/8-inch thickness. Transfer the dough onto a pie plate and trim the edges to have 1/2-1 inch overhang (depending on how thick you like your crust edges). Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes while you make the filling.
  4. In a large mixing bowl, juice the lemons. Add the peeled, sliced apples to the bowl and toss to coat. This will help prevent any excessive browning and enhance the flavor. Set aside.
  5. In a medium bowl, whisk together the brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger. Sprinkle the mixture over the apples and toss with your hands to coat.
  6. Add the cooled cider caramel to the apples and toss well with your hands to coat, making sure to distribute the caramel throughout.
  7. Roll out the remaining half of your pie dough to 1/8-inch thickness. Cut strips of equal width to form your lattice. Make sure that your strips are a few inches longer than the overall diameter of your pie to allow them to reach over the dome of the pie. I cut five strips, each about 3-inches wide, to make a fat lattice. For a step-by-step guide on making a lattice top, check out Yossy Arefi's recipe here - https://food52.com/blog/7731-lattice-top-peach-and-blueberry-pie-with-rye-crust).
  8. Remove the pie plate from the refrigerator. Arrange the filling in the pie plate in layers of concentric circles, filling any gaps between the fruit as best you can. The fewer air pockets between the layers, the less your pie will collapse while baking. For the rounded, domed look, mound the apples higher in the center of the pie.
  9. Make your lattice on top of the filling and trim to match the overhang of your bottom crust. Fold the overhanging dough onto the pie plate edge and press down with your fingers to seal together. I used a fork to crimp the edges after sealing. Check out this post for other decorative crust ideas - https://food52.com/blog/8744-9-ways-to-fancy-up-your-pies
  10. Place the pie in the fridge while your oven preheats, about 30 minutes.
  11. Place one oven rack in the middle of the oven, and the other rack just below it. Place a baking sheet on the lower oven rack, to catch any apple cider juices as the pie bakes. Preheat your oven to 425 degrees F.
  12. Remove the pie from the refrigerator. Using a pastry brush, brush the lattice and crust edge with the egg wash. Sprinkle generously with turbinado sugar and flaky sea salt.
  13. Bake the pie until the crust is golden and the filling bubbly, about 45-50 minutes. If the top crust begins to darken too quickly, tent with aluminum foil.
  14. Cool the pie 30 minutes to an hour before serving. For fully set filling, allow the pie to cool completely before serving. Enjoy!
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2 Reviews

Yiannis P.
Yiannis P. February 20, 2024
I think this could be a very good recipe, but I found:

“Pour the cider in a deep, wide pot and bring to a boil. Boil for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, until the cider reduces dramatically and starts to foam.”

a little vague. Mine started foaming almost immediately & an amount, even if ballpark (e.g., “…until the cider reduces to less than a cup”) would be more helpful than “dramatically.”
 
Lizzie G.
Lizzie G. July 31, 2016
I loved this recipe and have made it twice.
I did find however that my caramel took a lot less time than stated - more like 45mins (I burnt the first batch).
Also the oven temperature meant that the pastry caught/burnt in a few places. I'd suggest putting foil over it early on in the cooking time.
I found the amount of nutmeg a little too much for my taste - next time I'd put in a smaller proportion.
I also found that if you coat the apple in the lemon juice then discard/drain the excess, the filling is less runny (which I preferred) and the caramel is more dominant.