The Perfect Apple Pie

The Perfect Apple Pie | ZoeBakes photo by Zoë François

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.

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Caramel Apple and Pear Cake

This caramel apple and pear cake is rather sweet and rich so I like to use tart apples, combined with a layer of pear.

Caramel apple and pear cake recipe | ZoëBakes | Photo by Zoë François

Haralson, Honeycrisp, Honeygold, Prairie Spy, Regent, Beacon, Red Baron and dozens of other varieties of apples have all been developed at the University of Minnesota. We may be known for our 10,000 lakes, but few people outside of the state realize that we are also a leader in apples.

I didn’t realize this until my friend Stephen Durfee came to visit. Yes, it took a pastry chef from California to show me what treasures were right in my own backyard. He set up a tasting with one of the “breeders” from the University and my education of apples began at a coffee shop on campus. We tried several of their latest and greatest developments and I realized for the first time the subtle and not so subtle differences of the fruit. The textures, acid, sugars and skins were all incredibly different, she talked about the characters as though we were tasting a bottle of fine wine.

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