It was the caramel drizzle that made you read past the headline, wasn’t it? I knew it! 🙂
I know I’ve posted before about this pie, but that one didn’t have the drizzle. And this time I made the caramel a little differently, too, and tweaked the seasoning on the apples. So I thought I’d share those alternatives here in case they’re helpful to any of you.
First, though, how about a closeup?
And a really close closeup…
Okay, before I get accused of trafficking in food porn, let me move on to the notes and recipes.
So for the caramel, I used less water with the sugar, hoping that would speed up the evaporation necessary to start liquefying the sugar. That seemed to work nicely, and got the sugar to a handsome amber color more quickly. When it hit that point and it was time to add the butter and cream, I used less of those, too.
I also used a bit of light Karo syrup in this batch, adding it right after I took the liquified sugar off the heat and just before stirring in the butter and cream. I needed this caramel to behave really nicely, drizzling onto the crust in an appealing way, and holding that nice drizzled shape. It all seemed to work out rather well.
The apple seasonings and thickeners were different here, too. I cored and peeled my Granny Smiths and Pink Ladies (you can use any combo of apples you like, but I like some tart ones and some sweet-crisp-tangy ones), and stirred them with brown sugar & white sugar, cutting back on those sweets since I knew I would be adding caramel to the inside and outside of this pie. I squeezed in some fresh lemon juice, then added only three seasonings: cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. I didn’t add melted butter. And instead of only flour as a thickener, I used flour and cornstarch. Instead of an all-butter crust, I used my new go-to crust: a butter-and-lard version. Heaven.
So if you want to try this approach, use the amounts below for the filling and the caramel. I’ll give you an abbreviated version of the technique & baking notes, too, which skip over making and rolling of the dough. If you need that, refer to the other version.
Caramel Apple Pie
Equipment
- 1 fluted pastry cutter
Ingredients
- For the filling:
- 6-7 medium-sized apples a mix of tart and sweet-crispy-tangy varieties, peeled, cored and sliced
- 1/3 cup total of dark brown and white sugars
- 1 tsp. cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp. nutmeg preferably freshly grated
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- 1 Tbsp. plus 1 tsp. cornstarch
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- A few firm squeezes of fresh lemon juice about 1 Tbsp.
- For the caramel:
- 1 1/4 cup. granulated sugar
- 1/3 c. water
- 1/4 c. heavy cream
- 3 Tbsp. unsalted butter cut into pieces
Instructions
- To make the caramel:
- Combine the sugar and water in a small heavy saucepan. It should have a thick, sludgy texture. Cover the pan.
- Over medium heat, dissolve the sugar. You can swirl the mix as it heats, but DO NOT STIR. When the sugar has dissolved, increase the heat to medium-high.
- When the syrup comes to a boil, remove the lid and attach a candy thermometer. Boil syrup until it reaches a deep amber color. Remove from heat.
- Add the cream, taking care to avoid the sudden release of steam. Stir in the butter. Pour into a bowl and let cool.
- To make the pie:
- Mix together the apples, seasonings and thickeners.
- Roll out your bottom crust and lay it in the pie pan. Spoon in about one-third of the apple filling. Reserve 1/4 cup to 1/2 cup of the caramel for drizzling on top of the pie and set that aside for later.
- Drizzle a few tablespoons-full of caramel onto the apples. Spoon in another third of the fruit filling. Repeat the drizzle. Spoon in the rest of the fruit filling.
- Weave your lattice strips to make the top crust. Roll the edges under and seal and crimp. Chill the pie in the freezer while the oven is heating to 425, a good 20 minutes.
- Take the pie from the fridge and put it on a lipped, parchment-lined baking sheet.
- Brush the lattice top lightly with egg white. Bake for 20 minutes.
- Reduce heat to 375. Bake for another 45-55 minutes, until the crust is deep golden brown and sizzling, and you can see the filling bubbling.
- Let the pie cool to room temperature.
- Now it's time for the drizzle. I used a pastry bag and #4 tip for this; you can use a Ziplock bag with a teensy hole cut in one corner if you don't have pastry bags and tips. You can even try drizzling from a spoon, but that doesn't give you much control.
- If your caramel has firmed up too much for easy spooning and drizzling, you might have to warm it in a glass bowl in the microwave. But take care not to heat it back up to a liquid state. Go easy on the heat; you want it barely warm, just soft enough to work with.
- Drizzle the caramel horizontally, then vertically, across the pie, along and between the lattice strips. I piped some caramel into the openings between the lattice strips, too, so it kind of oozed into the filling.
