It’s my Mum’s birthday tomorrow, and I can’t very well show up empty handed. When I asked her what type of a birthday cake she wanted, she said “something with apples” so while this is a pie not a cake, it’s a birthday pie. And it’s a “pretty lady” pie because it uses pink lady apples, it is also because my mum is a very pretty lady too.
It’s bad luck in German tradition to wish someone a happy birthday before their birthday, so I am not doing that yet though. 🙂
Ingredients
for the pastry dough and lattice
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
10 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1/3 cup chilled solid vegetable shortening, diced
6 tablespoons (or more) ice water
for the filling
1/4 cup ground hazelnuts
3 pounds Pink Lady apples (you can use other types of baking apples, but keeping with the Pretty Lady theme)
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 cup sugar
4 tablespoons apple brandy (Calvados)
2 tablespoons maple syrup (optional)
1 teaspoon maple extract (optional)
2 tablespoons flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup coarsely chopped hazelnuts
1 large egg, with a tablespoon of water for egg wash
powdered sugar, for dusting
Directions
Blend flour, sugar and salt in processor. Add butter and shortening and pulse in until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add 6 tablespoons ice water and process until moist clumps form, adding more water by teaspoonfuls if dough is dry. Gather into ball, then divide and flatten into two disks. Wrap in plastic and chill 2 hours.
Preheat oven to 400F. Lightly spray 11×13 inch shallow baking sheet (or a 10 inch pie plate) with baking spray.
Peel, core, and slice the apples into 1/2-inch slices. Place apples into a large bowl and toss with lemon juice to prevent browning. Add the sugar, flour, salt and calvados. maple syrup and maple extract (if using) and toss again. Let sit while you roll out the dough for the crust.
On a lightly floured surface, roll out one of the dough disks to a 12×15 inch rectangle. Place in baking sheet and crimp edges. Dock the pastry with a fork a few times, all the way to the edges. Sprinkle the hazelnut meal evenly over the base of the pie, before spooning the apples onto it.
This is where you can be creative. You may prefer to create a lattice top for your pie. Alternatively, you can use the second pie crust to create small shapes (flowers or leaves or stars, etc). I decided to do a bit of both because I couldn’t decide. After you have decorated the top of your pie, in a small bowl, whisk together the egg with a tablespoon of water. Brush over the pie dough.
Bake pie for 25 minutes at 400F before lowering oven temperature to 375F. Bake for an additional 25-35 minutes, or until golden brown. If the edges begin to darken too quickly, cover with aluminum foil to prevent additional browning. Cool pie for at least 3 hours before slicing and serving. Dust with powdered sugar before serving.
