Renee’s Rustic Apple Pie
As a kid, I never quite understood American apple pie. Don't get me wrong, I did, do, and will eat American apple pie. Please do not think that I am too elitist for any kind of pie. American apple pie is a big gooey, and to me, strange delicious mess. My formative experiences with apple pie were shaped by a pie you can eat with your fingers. My mom's french apple pie. To me, American apple pie always seemed like a bowl made out of crust, with compote in it, and not a cohesive hole. My mom's apple pie is perfect for an outdoor picnic or summer barbecue, precisely because it isn't a gooey mess. Everyone can grab a slice and eat it without even using a plate.
Mãe herself never referred to her apple pie as rustic. It was simply torta de maçã, which translates literally to "apple pie." The best way to help people understand the results they will get, is to describe it as rustic. The recipe itself is her own adaptation of a french plum tarte. She took an old recipe from her mom's french cookbook for the crust and the creme, but making it with plum apparently was always a watery disaster, so one day she started making it with super thinly sliced apple, and it worked out well. I cannot tell you how many times I have personally consumed this pie. As a kid, I always wanted to scrape the custard out of the saucepan and lick the wooden spoon. This one simple little rustic pie just has so many good memories for me, and I hope it will for you too.
At its core, the rustic apple pie has two main components: The custard, and the crust. The custard itself is the simplest thing ever. It's just an egg custard: Egg yolks, milk, sugar, and a little flour for thickening.
Fine pastry with simple ingredients.
Preheat your oven to 350°
Spread your cup flour and pinch of salt on a large cutting board or clean countertop. Make a hollow in the middle of the flour.
Add softened butter and water into the hollow center of your flour.
Combine the water, softened butter and flour mixture, initially at the edges of your hollow. Kneed the dough until it is well incorporated.
Let sit in the refrigerator for about an hour.
Put your dough ball between two pieces of plastic wrap. Spread it out with you hands initially. Finally, use a roller to roll it thin.
Use an 8 or 9 inch pie dish. Remove one side of plastic wrap. Dough side down, drape the crust over the dish, and gently work it in. Remove the rest of your plastic wrap. Poke the dough with a fork a few times.
Bake at 350° for 15-20 mins.
Warm your milk in a saucepan, but do not boil (merely warm). Dissolve flour, sugar, and egg yolks into the milk. Use a whisk to help incorporate.
Cook over low heat, while stirring with a wooden spoon, until cream thickens. Do not allow the mixture to boil. Remove from heat. Add the butter in small pieces, and allow to cool.
Once the cream is cool, pour it slowly over the crust.
Peel and thinly slice your apples. Arrange in a radial flower pattern. Sprinkle with sugar.
Bake at 350° for 45 minutes.
Ingredients
Directions
Preheat your oven to 350°
Spread your cup flour and pinch of salt on a large cutting board or clean countertop. Make a hollow in the middle of the flour.
Add softened butter and water into the hollow center of your flour.
Combine the water, softened butter and flour mixture, initially at the edges of your hollow. Kneed the dough until it is well incorporated.
Let sit in the refrigerator for about an hour.
Put your dough ball between two pieces of plastic wrap. Spread it out with you hands initially. Finally, use a roller to roll it thin.
Use an 8 or 9 inch pie dish. Remove one side of plastic wrap. Dough side down, drape the crust over the dish, and gently work it in. Remove the rest of your plastic wrap. Poke the dough with a fork a few times.
Bake at 350° for 15-20 mins.
Warm your milk in a saucepan, but do not boil (merely warm). Dissolve flour, sugar, and egg yolks into the milk. Use a whisk to help incorporate.
Cook over low heat, while stirring with a wooden spoon, until cream thickens. Do not allow the mixture to boil. Remove from heat. Add the butter in small pieces, and allow to cool.
Once the cream is cool, pour it slowly over the crust.
Peel and thinly slice your apples. Arrange in a radial flower pattern. Sprinkle with sugar.
Bake at 350° for 45 minutes.