Caramel Apple Pie
Recipe by Michelle Gayer
The only way to improve on a classic apple pie is to layer the filling with decadent homemade caramel sauce. In this special edition of AZ Cooks, I invite Michelle Gayer into the kitchen to teach me a thing or two about making the ultimate caramel apple pie. Many thanks for sharing your kitchen wisdom!
Watch Michelle make this recipe:
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Andrew Zimmern Cooks: Caramel Apple Pie with Michelle Gayer
Ingredients
Pie Dough
- 9 ounces cake or pastry flour
- 9 ounces high gluten flour
- 1 pound butter
- 2 1/2 ounces water
- 1/2 tablespoon white wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 1 tablespoon sugar
Caramel Sauce
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup water
- 1/2 cup cream
- 4 tablespoons butter
Apple Filling
- 6 large apples, such as Honey Crisp
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 egg, beaten
- Salt for dusting, optional
- Sugar for dusting, optional
Instructions
Make the Pie Dough
Combine the flours, salt and sugar in a large mixing bowl. Cut butter into 1/2-inch cubes and work into flour with fingertips until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add the vinegar and water and draw the dough together with your fingers. Flatten into a few disks. Wrap each disk in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour to firm.
On a lightly floured work surface, roll out the dough to about 1/8-inch thick. Using your pie plate set on the dough as a guide, cut out a roughly 12-inch circle and place in a 9-inch pie plate, you will have overhang. Roll out the remaining dough and cut eight 1- or 2-inch strips for the lattice topping (we made our lattice a little thicker for a more rustic look). Chill both pie crust and dough for lattice in the refrigerator while you make the filling. Freeze any remaining dough for another use.
Make the Caramel & Apple Filling
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
Place the sugar in a saucepan. Slowly pour in the water, being careful to not splash the sugar up on the sides of the pan. Bring to a boil and cook until mixture is a deep golden brown. Add the cream in thirds, it will bubble up, stirring to combine. Add the butter and remove from heat.
Peel the apples and slice on a mandolin. Place in a large mixing bowl and add the lemon juice, sugar, cornstarch, nutmeg and cinnamon. Mix well to evenly coat the apples.
Remove the pie crust from the fridge and fill, alternating layers of apple mixture and caramel. Weave the dough strips into a lattice top. Trim the excessive overhang to 1 inch. Seal the lattice strips to the crust with the beaten egg. Fold the excess dough under itself and crimp decoratively. Brush the top with egg and sprinkle with salt and sugar (optional). Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until crust is golden. Allow to cool on a wire rack, then serve with vanilla ice cream.
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