Marleen’s Pairing: Commandaria & Dutch Apple Pie

Marleen’s childhood recipe paired with Commandaria Melusine 2011

I would love to share a classic Dutch recipe with you that I have grown up with; classic apple pie. Both my grandmothers and my mom made this pie when I was little and it is an intrinsic part of my childhood memories. It filled our house with a lovely smell and it was a real comfort to eat on rainy Autumn days. I know the recipe by heart and have continued to bake it after moving to Cyprus. I now make it together with my own daughter and share my memories with her. Each time I present it to family and friends they love it. With hints of cinnamon, raisins and almonds, it is a perfect match with Commandaria and thus blends my two worlds together… Enjoy!

Ingredients for the Apple Pie

serves 6-8

300 g self raising flour

200 g cold butter in little cubes

150 g soft light brown muscovado sugar

3/4 egg (35 g) for the dough

1/4 beaten egg for brushing

a pinch of salt

1 kg tart apples (they need to be hard and sour)

fresh lemon juice

2 teaspoons / 6 g ground cinnamon

50 g sugar

50 g raisins, washed and soaked and drained (optional)

20 g blanched shaved almonds (optional)

2 table spoons of custard powder

How to Make the Apple Pie

Mix self raising flour, salt, soft light brown sugar and butter in cubes. Rub with fingertips until you have a mixture resembling bread crumbs. Add the 3/4 egg and quickly knead the ingredients into a smooth dough. Leave to rest in the fridge for an hour.
Peel the apples and cut each apple into 4 equal parts and cut each part into 5 thick slices, sprinkle with lemon juice to prevent oxidation . Add the cinnamon and 50 grams of sugar to the apples and stir. Add the raisins and almonds, leave them out if you do not like them. Cover and set aside.

Preheat the oven to 175ºC / 350ºF. Line a round buttered springform baking tin (22 cm for very generous covering or 24 cm for a ‘good fit’) with 3/5 of the dough. Add the custard powder and shake the baking tin to spread the custard powder evenly on the bottom of the dough. Add the prepared apples mix. Make sure to distribute the apple slices evenly and to fill the pie so it is firmly packed with apple (the apples will slink from baking). Shaking the tin a bit might help you to achieve this.

Now with the left over 2/5 of the dough make a grid/lattice on top of the apples. Brush the grid lightly with the 1/4 beaten egg (add a bit of water to the egg to make it easier to brush). Place the pie in the middle of the oven and bake it for approximately 60 minutes, depending on your oven. Keep an eye on it while baking.

Leave to cool down. You can eat it warm, but I like it even better when cooled completely. For me the best time to eat it is a day after baking, it gives the pie time to set. It will be more mushy. You can serve it with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Enjoy with Commandaria Melusine  2011!