Apple pie baking pan
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.
How to make Dutch apple pie
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.
- Unsalted butter. If you have salted butter on hand, this is also possible, but leave out the pinch of salt in the dough.
- White ‘basterd’ sugar or white caster sugar. I always use ‘basterdsuiker’, this is a Dutch product. It’s a soft kind of sugar (it’s a combination of fine granulated sugar and sugar syrup) and often makes baked goods softer and smoother. You can also use caster sugar or (fine) granulated sugar.
- Self-rising flour. Using this flour in an apple pie eliminates the need for a separate leavening agent.
- Egg. You’ll be using this for the dough and egg wash, so don’t forget to divide the egg in half!
- Vanilla Sugar. Vanilla sugar makes everything taste better. Alternatively, you can use 1 teaspoon vanilla extract instead.
- Salt. For the dough, this will make your apple pie more flavorful.
- Apples! These are a must in an apple pie. I prefer the Dutch variety ‘goudreinetten’, but Jonagold is a good one too.
- Fine granulated sugar. This is for the apple mixture.
- Cinnamon! You can’t have apple pie without cinnamon.
- Breadcrumbs. You sprinkle this on the bottom to absorb the moisture from the apples.