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La vraie "American Apple Pie Recipe

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4 from 14 reviews

This authentic American Apple Pie recipe features a flaky homemade crust and a spiced apple filling with a lattice top. Perfectly balanced with fresh lemon juice, cinnamon, and warming spices, baked to golden perfection with a buttery finish.

Ingredients

For the dough:

  • 430g all-purpose flour
  • 1 pinch of salt
  • 280g unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
  • 2 tbsp granulated sugar
  • 150 ml very cold water

For the filling:

  • 5 to 6 large apples, peeled, cored, and sliced
  • 2 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice + lemon zest
  • 150g brown sugar (cassonade)
  • 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
  • 2 tbsp cornstarch (maïzena)
  • 1 pinch of salt
  • ¼ tsp allspice (quatre épices)
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon
  • ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
  • 60 ml hard cider or apple juice, brought to a boil
  • 30g unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

For finishing:

  • 1 egg
  • 1 tbsp water
  • Granulated sugar for sprinkling

Instructions

  1. Prepare the dough: In a medium mixing bowl, combine the flour and salt. Cut the butter into small pieces and crumble it into the flour until the mixture becomes fine and slightly grainy. Stir in the sugar and mix well. Gradually pour in the very cold water, mixing with a fork. Finish kneading by hand to form a ball of dough. Flatten it slightly, wrap in cling film, and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
  2. Prepare the filling: While the dough chills, peel, core, and slice the apples. Toss them with lemon juice and lemon zest in a large bowl to prevent browning.
  3. Mix filling ingredients: In a separate bowl, combine brown sugar, flour, cornstarch, salt, allspice, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Sprinkle this mixture over the apples and toss to coat evenly. Add the boiled hard cider or apple juice and gently stir so all apple slices are well coated with the mixture.
  4. Divide and roll out the dough: Remove the dough from the fridge and divide it into two pieces, one roughly twice the size of the other. The larger piece will become the pie base and the smaller will be used for the lattice top. Roll each piece out into a wide disk about ½ to 1 cm thick.
  5. Prepare the pie dish: Preheat the oven to 190°C (375°F). Butter and flour a 24-26 cm (9-10 inch) deep pie dish or cake pan. Line the dish with the larger dough disk, trimming edges so they extend slightly beyond the rim.
  6. Add filling: Fill the dough-lined pan evenly with the apple mixture. Dot with the 30g butter pieces on top of the filling.
  7. Create the lattice top: Cut the smaller dough disk into strips about 2 cm wide. Weave these strips into a lattice pattern over the apples and press the edges to seal with a fork.
  8. Apply egg wash: Beat the egg with 1 tablespoon water and brush generously over the lattice and crust edges. Sprinkle granulated sugar on top for a glossy, crisp finish.
  9. Bake the pie: Place the pie in the oven on the middle rack and bake for 50 minutes until the filling bubbles and crust is golden brown. Check after 20 minutes and cover edges with foil to prevent burning.
  10. Cool and serve: Remove the pie from the oven and let it cool completely. Serve with vanilla ice cream if desired.

Notes

  • Using very cold water and chilled butter is key to a flaky pie crust.
  • Hard cider adds extra depth to the filling but pure apple juice can be used as well.
  • Covering the crust edges halfway protects them from burning while baking.
  • The lattice crust allows steam to escape, which helps prevent a soggy bottom.
  • Adjust sugar in the filling based on the sweetness of your apples.

Find it online: https://cookedbygrace.com/la-vraie-american-apple-pie-recipe/