LEAFY ELSTAR APPLE PIE WITH ALL-BUTTER CRUST

LEAFY ELSTAR APPLE PIE WITH ALL-BUTTER CRUST

Said the 10 yr old upon tasting the pie: "Mommy, your apple pie exceeds expectations!"

Yes, it was a mighty fine pie and I'd make it exactly the same way again and again!

It all starts with the Apple.  In my pie are Elstar apples, which is a variety originating in the Netherlands in Elst in the 1950s.  It is a cross between Golden Delicious and Ingrid Marie apples. We picked these in Abbotsford at Willow View Farms last week. They are excellent apples eaten out of hand as they are crunchy and sweet.

I have an aversion to soggy crusts.  If you’re like me this recipe will please you because it does everything possible to mitigate the soggy pie crust scenario.

I used leaf cutters for my top crust because I didn’t feel like struggling with a braided lattice again. It took me only 10 minutes to make this top crust. 

The crowning glory is the little bird cut-out.  I was tempted to use a Totoro cut-out but it just didn’t look right lol!

A brushing of egg white and sprinkling of evaporated cane sugar ensures a crunchy crust

The recipe called for baking at a high temperature of 425F for 15 minutes and then turning the oven down to 350F for 45 minutes.  After the time was up, I added another 15 minutes because I saw the bottom crust wasn’t browned enough.  The best thing about using a glass pie plate is that you can easily monitor the bottom crust during the baking process.

The top crust of overlapped pastry leaves are absolutely delicious and crunchy with the sprinkling of sugar.

The filling is simply apples, cinnamon and sugar.  No extra butter or lemon juice is needed

ELSTAR APPLE PIE WITH FLAKEY ALL-BUTTER LEAFY PIE CRUST 

FOOD PROCESSOR ALL-BUTTER PIE CRUST

• 2 1/2 Cups all - purpose flour (12.5 ounces; 350 grams)
• 2 Tbsp sugar (25 grams)
• 1 tsp kosher salt (5 grams)
• 2 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, cut into 1/4 - inch pats (10 ounces; 280 grams)
• 6 Tbsp cold water (3 ounces; 85 milliliters)

1. PREHEAT OVEN TO 425F (400F convection). If you have a sheet pan or a pizza stone/tile, place it on your oven rack to heat.
2. Combine the flour, sugar and salt in a bowl.  Scoop out two thirds of the flour mixture into the bowl of a food processor. Pulse twice to incorporate. Spread butter chunks evenly over surface. Pulse until no dry flour remains and dough clumps, about 25 pulses. Use a rubber spatula to spread the dough evenly around the bowl of the food processor. Sprinkle with remaining flour and pulse until dough is just barely broken up, about 5 short pulses. Transfer dough to a large bowl.
3. Sprinkle with water; using a rubber spatula, fold and press the dough until it comes together into a ball. Use your hands to form a ball.  Divide ball in half. Form each half into a 4-inch disk. Wrap tightly in plastic and refrigerate for at least 2 hours before rolling and baking

ELSTAR APPLE PIE FILLING (REPLACE WITH GOLDEN DELICIOUS IF YOU CANNOT FIND ELSTAR)

• 8-10 large Elstar apples, peeled, cored and sliced thinly
• 1/2 cup evaporated cane sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1. Place the sliced apples in a saucepan with the cane sugar and cinnamon.
2. Heat over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally until the apples are translucent and have released their juices
3. If there is a lot of juice in the bottom of the pan, scoop out most of the juice into a small bowl.  Create a cornstarch slurry with 1 teaspoon cornstarch and 2 tablespoons water.  Pour the slurry into the juice and stir.  Then add the mixture back into the pan of apples.  Heat, stirring constantly until the apple filling thickens
4. Allow filling to cool in the pot until ready to fill pie crusts

ELSTAR APPLE PIE

• double-crust pie dough (above)
• 1 egg white
• extra evaporated cane sugar
• cooled apple pie filling

1. Roll out one of the pie crust disks between parchment or plastic wrap to fit the bottom of a 9 inch glass pie pan.  Roll the edges under itself to fit the pie pan. Make a decorative pattern in the dough with fork or fingers along the rim.
2. Brush the bottom of the pie crust with egg white
3. Pour the apple pie filling onto the bottom crust.  
4. Roll out the top crust and use leaf cutters to cut out leaves. Overlap the leaves in a concentric pattern and brush the tops with eggwhite.  Sprinkle sugar over the crust.
5. Bake in hot preheated 425F (400Fconvection) oven by placing the filled pie on the heated pizza tile or sheet pan.  Bake for 15 minutes
6. Lower oven temperature to 350F (325F convection); baking for a further 45-60 minutes. NB: monitor the bottom crust of the pie through the glass pan and ensure that the crust is a deep golden brown.  Cover with foil if you think the top crust is browning too quickly. I had to bake this for 60 min at 325F convection setting.
7. Allow to cool on a rack. 
8. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream.

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