Everyone knows where to get a good appletaart ( What the dutch call it) or apple pie in Amsterdam. That place is none other than Winkel. Sitting on most of the tables is a plate of that yummy apple pie.We sat quite near the bar area where the servers were in action- Busy slicing pies after pies and dishing out plate after plate
Being such a fan of apples and cinnamon, I waited in intense anticipation for the arrival of our pie. I was delighted to find generous chunks of apple instead of slices. This gave the pie more bite. Their crust is not the flaky kind but takes on a more cake like texture which I must say goes really well with the apples. Overall, I rate it one of the best apple pies I’ve tasted in my life.
I’m usually only tempted to recreate stuff eaten during my foodie travels when they are exceptionally good and worthy of my time and effort. The desire to recreate this dish 1-2 weeks after arriving home means that dish must have created such a deep imprint in my memory bank that I knew I had to create it somehow. I’ve done my speculoos cookies…. now it’s time to attempt the Winkel pie.
I didn’t want to make such a huge pie in my first attempt so I halved the recipe and baked mine in a 6” Removable base tin. 600g of flour called for in the original recipe is too big a pie for my family. The recipe below is for a full pie. If you want a 6″ pie just half the recipe.
Recipe adapted from Rachel
For the crust:
1½ cups [360 g] unsalted butter, cubed, room temperature
1 1/3 cups [240 g] brown sugar, packed firmly
Pinch of salt
2 eggs, slightly beaten
5 cups [600 g] self-rising flour
Steps:
1) In a food processor, Cream the butter and brown sugar together.
2) Sprinkle salt and add eggs, keeping a tablespoonful to brush over the pie later. Pulse until the eggs are well-incorporated.
3) Add the flour and pulse until dough comes together into a ball. Transfer the dough to a bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and rest at room temperature while you prepare the filling.
4) Preheat the oven at 375°F [190°C].
For the filling:
7 Green Apples
3 Red Apples
Finely grated zest of ½ orange and ½ lemon
Juice of ½ lemon
1/3 cup brown sugar (plus more for the topping)
2 tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp grated nutmeg
2 tsp cornstarch
To make the filling:
1) Peel and core the apples, then cut them into chunks.
2) In a very large bowl, mix the apple pieces with the orange and lemon zest, lemon juice, brown sugar, spices and cornstarch. Set aside
To assemble the pie:
1) Grease a large, springform pan and line the bottom parchment paper.
2) Reserve ¼ of the crust mixture for the pie’s topping.
3) Press the dough against the bottom and all the way up the sides of the pan. (It shouldn’t be too thick, as long as the base and sides are covered.)
4) Add the apple filling and press down to compress the filling and make it as flat as possible on top so that you wont have any shrinkage when the apple cooks.
5) Spread the remaining of the crust mixture all over the apples.
6) Brush the reserved egg wash all over the top of the pie, then sprinkle lightly with brown sugar.
7) Bake for 70 – 85 minutes. ( I baked my 6″ pie for about an hour)
8) Let the pie cool for 2 – 3 hours before removing it from the pan. ( This is to let the juices be absorb)
Do comment in the post below or tag me on Instagram: @sherbakes if you attempt your very own. Would love to share your joy in baking adventures
