American apple pie

Name: American apple pie
Cook time: 365 min
Total time: 365 min
Yield: 8
Cuisine: Estadounidense
Ingredients: 375 g Wheat flour; 250 g Butter; 1 u Egg; 1 u Lemon; 1.3 kg Apple; 1 teaspoon Salt; 130 g Sugar; 3 tablespoons Cornstarch; 1.5 teaspoons Cinnamon; 1 pinch Nutmeg; 150 ml Water

Tarta de manzana americana

Medium

Contains allergens

Cereales con glutenLecheHuevos

Incomplete allergen information: some ingredients have not been reviewed yet. Always check the labels before cooking.

Author: Equipo Cocinoa
Preparation time: 6 hr
Servings: 8

Summary

The classic American apple pie: two layers of flaky, crisp all-butter pastry filled with apples, cinnamon and lemon and topped with a lattice. It needs to rest before you slice it.

Ingredients

8 servings

Add to Bring!

375 g Wheat flour
250 g Butter (unsalted, well chilled, diced)
1 u Egg (beaten with 1 tbsp water, to glaze)
1 u Lemon (zest and 2 tbsp juice)
1.3 kg Apple (half tart (Granny Smith), half sweet (Golden Delicious or Fuji))
1 teaspoon Salt (fine, for the pastry)
130 g Sugar (1 tbsp for the pastry, the rest for the filling and for sprinkling)
3 tablespoons Cornstarch
1.5 teaspoons Cinnamon (ground)
1 pinch Nutmeg (freshly grated)
150 ml Water (iced, you may not need it all)

Instructions

In a large bowl, mix the flour, salt and a tablespoon of sugar. Add the cold butter and rub it in with your fingertips (or cut it in with two knives) until you have crumbs with pea-sized pieces of butter: those little pieces are what create the flaky layers.
8 min
Sprinkle in the iced water a little at a time, mixing with a fork, just until the dough holds together when squeezed. Do not knead it. Divide it into two discs, one slightly larger than the other, wrap them in cling film and chill for at least an hour.
60 min
Peel and core the apples and cut them into 5 mm slices. Toss with the rest of the sugar (keeping back a tablespoon for sprinkling), the lemon zest and juice, cinnamon, nutmeg and cornflour, and let them release their juices while you roll out the pastry.
15 min
Preheat the oven to 220 °C with a baking tray on a low shelf. Roll out the larger disc on a floured surface and line a 23 cm pie dish, leaving a little overhang. Roll out the other disc and cut it into strips about 2 cm wide.
12 min
Pile the apples into the dish in a mound, as they shrink a lot as they cook, leaving most of the juice behind in the bowl. Weave a lattice over the top with the strips, trim the excess, fold the edge of the base over the ends and crimp with your fingers or a fork. Chill for 15 minutes so the butter firms up again.
25 min
Brush the pastry with the beaten egg and sprinkle with the reserved sugar. Bake for 20 minutes at 220 °C, then lower to 190 °C and bake until the pastry is deep golden and the filling is bubbling thickly between the strips, another 40 to 45 minutes. If the edge darkens too much, cover it with foil.
65 min
Leave the pie to cool on a wire rack for at least three hours before slicing: the filling needs that time to set and, if you cut it hot, it will run everywhere.
3 hr

Notes

Although apple trees reached North America with European settlers, the phrase “as American as apple pie” turned it into a national symbol. There it is served warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream (à la mode) or, in New England, with a slice of Cheddar. The most common mistakes are handling the pastry with soft butter, which makes it tough, and taking the pie out of the oven too soon: the filling must bubble thickly between the strips so the cornflour sets and the base cooks through. Mix tart apples, which hold their shape, with sweet ones, which add juice. It keeps for two days covered at room temperature and up to four in the fridge; you can also freeze it assembled but unbaked and bake it from frozen, allowing about 20 minutes extra.