Every family has it’s own family recipes. I am especially interested in the sweet recipes. I am a fan of this recipe: Grandma’s Apple Pie. The recipe is from my maternal grandmother. Unfortunately, I never met her, but how I would have loved to bake this pie with my grandmother and enjoy it together with a cup of tea.
When I was abroad, I never came across an apple pie like the one we make in Holland. When I searched for English recipes for a Dutch apple pie, I found many. But none the way we make it.
For example, these recipes said that Dutch apple pie always has a crumb topping. This is not true, Dutch apple pie should have a lattice topping. I admit that I have occasionally made the pie with a crumb topping, but only when I was running out of time.
For a Dutch apple pie you always use a springform pan. For this recipe, I use a 24 cm/9 inch springform pan. I have been using one for years from Le Creuset, which I am a fan of. No matter how many times it is used, it still looks beautiful.
Don’t have a springform pan at home? You can also use a pie pan; depending on the depth, you can go up a size.
It doesn’t take much to make your own delicious apple pie; I’ll go through the list of ingredients with you and give you a brief explanation.
The most important ingredient in an apple pie: apples! Always use firm, sweet and sour apples for an apple pie. I prefer the Dutch Goudreinetten, but they are not available all year round. It’s also a Dutch apple variety and not available in every country. Jonagold and Elstar are good alternatives.
In my grandmother’s apple pie recipe, I use breadcrumbs on the bottom. Sometimes I replace them with 2-3 tablespoons of baking powder. Both breadcrumbs and baking powder absorb moisture. The moisture from the apples goes into these ingredients instead of (all of) the crust. As a result, your cake will stay firmer and drier.
If you sprinkle breadcrumbs on the bottom of the apple pie (on top of the dough), it will not do much for the flavor. You can sprinkle custard powder through the apple slices or cubes, this will do a lot for the flavor. It will look like you added a little custard through the filling, which is very tasty.
Now that you know all about the ingredients, you are ready to get started. To get you started in the best possible way, I’m going to share all of my baking tips with you. We’ll start with preparation tips and then move on to tips for storing and reheating the apple pie.
If your dough is very sticky, you can add a little extra self-rising flour. Add small amounts and knead gently until the dough is no longer sticky. Too wet/sticky dough is not good for an apple pie because you are also adding a lot of moisture with the apple filling.
Add a little more egg or butter. Also, knead the dough well with your hands instead of using a mixer.
While most baked goods should be baked in the center of the oven, an apple pie should be placed just below the center of the oven for best results.
When your apple pie is a nice golden brown color at or around the specified baking time, it’s time to take it out of the oven.
As the apples cook in the oven, they become softer and collapse a bit. So it is normal and certainly not a bad thing if your apple pie gets a bit lower in the middle.
It helps to use apple slices instead of cubes in your apple pie, but this is really a pie where you need a plate and fork. Also, make sure your pie is completely cooled, which will make it firmer.
For the reason I mentioned above: it makes your pie firmer. It also makes an apple pie tastier. I like to bake my apple pie a day ahead. An apple pie is at its best after one day.
Do not remove the pie until it has cooled. Then the pie is firm enough.
Okay, that was a lot of prep tips. Once your apple pie is done and waiting in all its perfection to be served, you may have questions about storage, freezing, and more. You guessed it, I have a nice collection of tips for that, too!
I put my apple pie -in the springform pan- covered with aluminum foil on the counter. You can keep it there for 2-3 days. In the refrigerator it will keep for 1-2 days longer, but I personally don’t like cold apple pie.
Sure, just wrap it in plastic and put a plastic bag around it and tie it off. You can keep the apple pie in the freezer for up to 3 months.
If you freeze an apple pie, you should defrost it. You can take it out of the freezer the day before and defrost it in the refrigerator. Thinking about it too late? Allow 5-6 hours on the counter. Note that the defrosting time also depends on the temperature in your house. It’s better to give it a little more time to defrost than too little.
Turn the oven back on to 170 °C/340 °F (conventional) and let it preheat. Warm the apple pie (in the springform pan) in about 10-12 minutes. A single slice of apple pie will take less time, start with half the time.
A good apple pie needs little, but I know few people who would turn down a nice dollop of whipped cream. Apple pie and whipped cream go well together. A scoop of ice cream is also very nice, but I would keep the apple pie slice a little smaller.
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I have fond memories of living in the Netherlands for over seven years, and appeltaart has always held a special charm for me. Thank you for sharing this recipe! This is my first attempt at making it. I found myself switching between the Dutch and English versions of the recipe.
In my area, Dutch-style self-rising flour isn’t available. I’ve looked up how to make my own, but I’m still unsure about the correct proportions of baking powder, salt (if needed?), and flour—or perhaps baking soda. Could you offer any advice on creating an alternative to self-rising flour?
Also, I suspect that the measurement for a teaspoon of cinnamon might differ between the UK/US and the Netherlands. Could you clarify this?
Aside from these points, I absolutely love the recipe!
Thank you so much! And of course 🙂 . It’s easy to make your own self rising flour: take 500 grams of all purpose flour and add 15 grams of baking powder. Salt or baking soda is not needed. And for our teaspoon measurement, I believe it’s the same in US/UK: 1 tablespoon = 15 ml, 1 teaspoon = 5 ml. Hope you’ll enjoy the appeltaart!
If you were to freeze the baked pie, would you freeze in the springform pan
Or take the pie out then freeze ?
Both options are possible, but I take it out of the springform pan (mainly because I need my baking pan for other recipes in the mean time).
I made this and the crust recipe seems to be missing something. Adding only 1/2 an egg for 400 grams of flour left my dough like sand and way too dry. I try adding more egg (the other half) but it was still too dry. Shouldn’t there be some water in the recipe? I added 4 Tbls. and it seemed to be ok, but I think the recipe could be edited so others don’t run into this.
Hi Cynthia, me and many other people tested this recipe many times and it (almost) always works out. Some people need a bit more egg for the dough, but water or milk shouldn’t be necessary. Did you weigh all other ingredients correctly? Sometimes the brand or kind of butter can affect the dough as well.