The apple pie is practically a national treasure and for good reason, it is just about the perfect dessert.
This time of year there are dozens of apples to choose from and I suggest you pick a variety for this pie. Having a mix of apples makes for a great pie, but be sure you pick apples that don’t turn to mush if you want a high, dramatic pie.
The Perfect Apple Pie is from Cenk Sönmezsoy’s The Artful Baker, and trust me, I don’t hand out that description without great consideration. It is made in an unusual process, which you can watch in my instagram video.
Sönmezsoy uses the ENTIRE apple (including skins & cores), so nothing is wasted and the taste and texture is brilliant. The pie is jammed packed with super thin slices of apples, so that it is dense. If you take the time to stack them, you’ll see the clean lines of apple when you cut into it.
This pie takes a little longer to make, but the results are worth every second. I topped the pie with a scoop of homemade rum raisin ice cream, because it is a family favorite.
Do you have pie questions or need to troubleshoot your recipe? Check out my guide on how to make pie crust.
The Perfect Apple Pie
RECIPE LINK: Apple Pie Filling and pie dough by Cenk Sönmezsoy
Zoë’s notes on the pie:
- I used 1 tablespoon potato starch in place of the salep or glutinous rice flour that Cenk calls for. Salep is a starch used in Turkish ice cream which gives it a magical stretch. I am sure it is brilliant in this pie, but nearly impossible to find here, so I had to make do with what I had and the pie was still AMAZING!
- The real trick to this pie is to use a mandoline (hand held slicer) so that the slices are as thin as can be. If they are too chunky, you can’t jam as much apple into each slice.
- I am going to make this pie again this week for Rosh Hashanah and replace the sugar with 3/4 cup honey.
- I went with a lattice top, but you can go with a solid top crust, which is traditional and gorgeous.
Instructions
- Make the pie dough.
- Follow the Artful Baker recipe for filling and baking instructions here. I don't have permission to publish the recipe on my site, so I'm directing you where you can find it! Note: I used 1 Tbsp. potato starch in place of the salep or glutinous rice flour that Cenk calls for. (Salep is a starch used in Turkish ice cream which gives it a magical stretch. I am sure it is brilliant in this pie, but nearly impossible to find here, so I had to make do with what I had and the pie was still AMAZING!)
- I went with a lattice top, but you can go with a solid top crust, which is traditional and gorgeous.
- Serve with rum raisin ice cream!
Rum Raisin Ice Cream
- Make the Ice Cream Base. Soak the raisins in the rum for at least an hour, but as long as 24 hours. Make the ice cream as directed. Strain the raisins and add them to the ice cream.
- If you try this recipe, please rate and review using the button above! It helps others find my recipes more easily.
Hi Zoe. Can I use cornstarch or tapioca instead of Salep (holy moly is that stuff expensive!) or potato starch? I have limited space in my tiny kitchen and don’t have room for a big bag of potato starch that I might not use again (or will I?!) and have got to stop making my guest room my “bakers catch-all”
Hi Robin,
Yes, it is just a matter of how much. I would add at least a tablespoon of extra cornstarch.
Cheers, Zoë
It looks so neat and delicious. .
Hi,
I really would love to make this pie. Just a few questions:
I do a double quantity of the Flakey Pie dough to make a 10 inch double-crust pie?
I am from Australia and our weights and measures are different. How many grams are in a cup of Flour for this recipe?
Thank you for posting this amazing pie.
Will start as soon as I can.
Regards from Australia,
Angela
I love apple pie and this one definitely looks perfect! Such a great dessert for holiday season!
My daughter and I made this pie yesterday. I have to say it took a very long time (5+ hours) but turned out beautiful! We are anxious to try it this evening for Thanksgiving.
One mistake I’m sure we made was not to put it back into the refrigerator to firm up before placing in the oven. We started late in making it and it was already 11pm. Knowing it was going to need at least 1.5 hours to cook and already exhausted we skipped that. The dough started to slide down the sides of our ceramic pie pan slightly. It still looks like a beauty though.
We didn’t have the starch recommended so I used tapioca starch and flour. It won’t taste identical for sure but I’m pretty sure it will get rave reviews.
We are not pie bakers and while I followed everything to a T except for refrigerating prior to baking the dough is still slightly higher than the apples, unlike how yours looks – apple and crust hugging each other. How do I fix that for the next time?
Thanks for sharing this and Happy Holidays!
Going to give this a try. I make the Dahlia Bakery Hot buttered rum apple pie and seriously it is to die for. They describe it as a project but it’s SO worth the effort!
I made this pie this past weekend-it is fabulous! Glad I saw it on your Instagram! I agree with another commenter that it takes 5+ hours. I too skipped the 30 minute freeze of the pie just before baking. It turned out well though. The pie actually puffed some in the oven and was quite impressive looking when done. It did not have a gap between the crust and apples. I used a mix of Haralson and McIntosh apples because that is what I had. Probably 1/3 McIntosh and I was afraid they would turn to mush, but they did not. I will make again but will plan to make the pie crust the day before to spread out the tasks.