Apple Pie without a Pie Tray
I cant bake and someone emailed this to me. It is not an original recipe but I love it and want to access it when Im visiting other people so posted it here
I cant bake and someone emailed this to me. It is not an original recipe but I love it and want to access it when Im visiting other people so posted it here
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1/4 cup all purpose flour
- 1/4 tsp salt
- for pastry: 2 tarts: (as you can freeze one of the
- 1/4 cups granulated or super fine sugar
- 1/2 pound unsalted butter diced, very cold
- for filling for each tart:
- 1 1/2 pounds mcintosh, macoun or empire apples
- 1/4 tsp orange zest grated
- 1/4 cup granulated or super fine sugar
- 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/8 tsp all spice ground
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter (1/2 stick) cold
- 1 p.s. if you only have salted butter then take away 1/2 tsp of salt per cup of butter
- Carbohydrate 70.218428621861 g
- Cholesterol 100.62 mg
- Fat 38.6299187647922 g
- Fiber 4.17034055551115 g
- Protein 5.5721126470483 g
- Saturated Fat 24.1507546443031 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (225g)
- Sodium 7.49214979205434 mg
- Sugar 66.0480880663498 g
- Trans Fat 2.90559573079828 g
- Calories 638 calories
Step-by-step
- for pastry, place flour, sugar and salt in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade.
- Pulse a few times to combine.
- Add the butter and toss quickly with your fingers to coate each cube of butter with flour.
- Pulse 12 to 15 times, or until the butter is the size of peas.
- With the motor running, add 1/4 cup ice water all at once through the feed tube.
- Keep hitting the pulse button to combine, but stop the machine just before the dough comes together.
- Turn the dough out onto a well-floured board and form into 2 disks.
- Wrap with plastic and refrigerate one of the disks for at least 1 hour.
- Freeze the rest of the pastry.
- Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
- Roll the pastry into an 1 inch circle on a lightly floured surface.
- Transfer it to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
- For the filling, peel, core and quarter the apples.
- Cut each quarter into 3 chunks.
- Toss the chunks with the orange zest.
- Cover the tart dough with the apple chunks, leaving a 1 1/2 inch border.
- Combine the flour, sugar, salt, cinnamon, and allspice in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade.
- add the butter and pulse until the mixture is crumbly.
- Pour into a bowl and rub wiht your fingers until ti startsholding together.
- Sprinkle evenly on the apples.
- Gently fold the boder over the apples, pleating it to make a circle.
- You will not be able to cover the top of the pie when you fold the edges up, as there is not enough dough, so don't worry, you just want it high enough and close enough to the centre that the filling won't fall out when it cooks.
- Bake the crostata for 20-25 minutes, or until crust is golden and apples tnder.
- Let cool 5 minutes then use 2 large spatulas to transfer it to wire rack
Traditional deep-dish apple pies require specialized bakeware, but this free-form crostata needs nothing more than a standard baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Folding the dough edges directly over the fruit creates an open-faced pastry that bakes reliably at a high heat of 450 degrees. Keeping the unsalted butter very cold during the initial processing ensures distinct pockets of fat melt into steam, yielding a flaky crust without structural support from metal pans.
Pairing this fruit pastry requires balancing rich dairy fats and concentrated sugars. A pour of cold heavy cream cuts through the sweetness of Macintosh or Empire apples. Alternatively, a sharp cheddar cheese offers a traditional savory contrast to warm cinnamon and allspice notes. Strong black coffee cleanses the palate between rich bites of buttery crumb topping.
Timing requires strategic division of labor in the kitchen. The dough yields two tarts, allowing one disk to rest in the refrigerator for at least one hour while the second disk goes straight into the freezer for future baking sessions. Peeling and quartering the fruit should happen right before assembly to prevent enzymatic browning on the exposed surfaces.
Baking takes between 20 and 25 minutes in a preheated oven. Watch for a deeply golden crust and tender apple chunks before removing the pastry from the heat source. Letting the dessert rest for five minutes on the hot pan firms up the bottom crust so two large spatulas can transfer the baked tart safely to a wire rack.
