Tuesday, October 26, 2010

TWD: All-American Apple Pie

It is said that people are either Beatles fans or Rolling Stones fans, and that your musical choice explains a lot about who you are as a person. I prefer to group people in entirely different categories: are you a cake person or a pie person?


For myself, I fall firmly on the "cake" side of this equation. Preferably a big layer cake, definitely chocolate, and absolutely slathered with silky, luscious frosting. This might say something about my personality--and it might also account for my snug waistband right about now--but it also explains why I rarely never make pies for our casual consumption.

That being said, if I'm going to make a pie, it's going to be a big, beautiful, bursting apple pie. There's just something I love about watching a pie go from this...


...to this...

And giving credit where credit is due, this is an excellent apple pie recipe, from the perfectly flaky crust to the juicy and flavorful filling. You can tell how sinful the crust is from the pockets of butter scattered throughout the dough:


And look at the result! I would never top an apple pie with a streusel crust, because I think the crisp, crackling top crust is one of the best things about an apple pie. Even though pies aren't at their best when they're piping hot, I love the crust fresh from the oven, when it shatters when you pierce it with a fork, sending buttery shards everywhere.


My only changes were to use a mix of apples (Granny Smith and Gala) and to substitute corn starch for the tapioca--I am not a tapioca-in-fillings fan. I unfortunately had to photograph this pie when it was still quite warm, and it hadn't really mellowed yet. I liked it much better once it was room temperature (or even cold from the fridge!) and the filling had gelled around the apples a bit, keeping them juicy and moist.
The only miss for me was the lemon zest in the filling--that was too jarring. In the future I'll stick to lemon juice and reserve the zest for lemon-flavored desserts only.


I made a brown sugar ice cream to go along with the pie, and it tasted awesome when I made the base. I was so excited to share it with you guys! Unfortunately, I put on my mad scientist jacket and tried adding some xanthan gum to it, to make it more creamy...and added about four times too much. When I took it out to churn it after its chilling period, it was the texture of snot. No joke! It was sort of repulsive, actually. I whisked in some more liquid, and although it thinned out, it never really recovered. This one is going back to the drawing board, but hopefully I'll have a successful brown sugar ice cream recipe to share with you soon.

So how's about it: are you fine folks cake people or pie people? I promise not to judge you too much based on your choice.

18 comments:

  1. The Beatles, and pie. (Pie fans can also have snug waistbands, as I've sadly witnessed.)

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  2. yum! love your scalloped edges. as for me, i'm a cake person all the way.
    xoxo Tia @ Buttercreambarbie

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  3. Beautiful apple pie!!! I'm a cake girl. Dark, very rich chocolate cake is my fave. Is this recipe in the TWD cookbook? I must buy one! :)

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  4. I am a cake person but great pies can woo me as well. Your pie looks like it hits the amazing category. Thanks to Beth at Musings and Meringues, I have found this wonderful blog! Can't wait to explore it more. I am a baker too and have a baking blog if you have time to check it out. My personal recommendation would be to take a peek at the hot cocoa cake! Beautiful pics and I am sooooo glad to have another pie crust recipe to add to my collection. Can't wait to try it.

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  5. Ok...so I am harassing you with yet another comment. Apparently my teenage son had high jacked my computer and signed himself in...I am not Zac but Geni of www.sweetandcrumby.com. Still an amazing looking pie up there! :) Can't wait for the browned butter ice cream recipe

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  6. Anonymous5:44 AM

    I like what you did with the crust around the edge! I love the frosting part of cake and the crust part of pie...not sure what kind of person that makes me!

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  7. I was cake until I learned to make Dorie's pie crust. Now I'm simply sweet over savoury.
    Your pie is picture perfect!

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  8. It looks really nice!

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  9. Cake. But pies know I can be had.

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  10. Love that cute little apple in the middle. My husband thought the lemon was too much, too.
    Cake for me!

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  11. Cake or pie? That depends...which one is nearest?

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  12. Stones, definitely the Stones, cake for me, but pie for my husband, and like you, definitely bursting-at-the-seams apple pie. Yours is gorgeous. I love the edge that you made for it, so pretty. I have read several posts now that say that tapioca is not their favorite in pies...why is that? I am not sure I can even taste it, so am curious why that is that others would have a strong preference one way or the other.

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  13. Anonymous12:18 AM

    I am primarily a chocolate (as opposed to vanilla) person, but that wasn't the question, though that is often my driving dessert principle. I was going to say I lean more to cake, but in thinking about it, I may actually be a pie person (chocolate cream pie... pumpkin pie... oh, I just drooled a bit). I like how the bottom crust gets a bit soft from the filling, and gets all toothy and stuff. Yum.

    Also, I noticed the butter-bits-distribution in your unbaked crust... very nice.

    -Hillary

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  14. I'm probably more of a pie fan, but do like some cake, too! And yes, chocolate with frosting, please.
    Your pie looks great. But again, I agree with you, the lemon zest was way too overpowering. The flaky crust is my favorite part about pie.

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  15. you have such a lovely blog. this pie looks so beautiful. thank you for sharing this.

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  16. Love your crust decoration. I would say I'm a pie person. Cakes looks beautiful but don't always taste as good as they look. Since I love lemon, I thought the zest of a whole lemon was just about perfect.

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  17. I'm a cake person, but an apple pie is possible the one thing I'd give up cake for!

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  18. Anonymous2:03 PM

    How would I get the recipe for this pie?

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