Apple pie is one of my favorite things to make this time of year. My kids love this one, we love it too, and most of the time it barely makes it to the fridge.
I make it with a spelt crust, an apple filling with a little cinnamon and pear, and pure maple syrup for sweetness. You can make the crust with either 80% spelt flour or white spelt flour – I make it both ways.
It’s a simple homemade apple pie and, for me, exactly the kind of thing I want to bake as fall begins and apples are everywhere again.
Ingredients
For a 24 cm / 9.5-inch pie pan
For the crust
- 170 g softened butter or ghee
- ½ cup pure maple syrup
- ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 full cups 80% spelt flour or white spelt flour
- 2 level tablespoons cornstarch
- ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 large egg yolk
For the apple filling
- 6 medium Golden Delicious apples
- Juice of ½ large lemon
- 2 strips of lemon peel, yellow part only
- 20 g butter or ghee
- 80 g pure maple syrup
- 1 level tablespoon cornstarch
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 100 g 100% pure pear purée, or 2 peeled pears, finely grated
Instructions
1. Make the crust
Add the butter or ghee, maple syrup, vanilla, flour, cornstarch, baking powder, and egg yolk to a bowl. Mix until you have a crumbly mixture.
Remove ½ cup of the crumbs and place them in the refrigerator. We’ll use these later for the topping.
Continue mixing the remaining dough until it starts to come together into soft, medium-sized crumbs.
Transfer the dough to the pie pan and press it as evenly as possible over the bottom and up the sides.
Press a sheet of parchment paper directly onto the crust and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
2. Make the apple filling
Peel the apples, cut them into quarters, and remove the cores. Cut each quarter into thin slices.
Place the apples in a saucepan and add the lemon juice, strips of lemon peel, butter or ghee, and maple syrup. Stir and bring to a boil.
Cook over medium heat for about 12–15 minutes, until the apples have softened.
Remove the strips of lemon peel. Add the cornstarch and cinnamon and mix well.
Continue cooking, stirring as you go, until the liquid has thickened considerably.
Remove from the heat, add the pear purée or finely grated pears, and stir to combine. Set the filling aside to cool.
3. Bake the crust
Preheat the oven to 200°C / 390°F.
Place the pie pan on a baking sheet on the middle rack and bake for 10 minutes with the parchment paper still pressed onto the crust, until the edges begin to turn golden.
Carefully remove the parchment paper, reduce the oven temperature to 180°C / 350°F, and bake for another 5–7 minutes, until the bottom of the crust begins to turn golden.
Remove from the oven and let it cool for about 5 minutes.
4. Assemble and bake the pie
Spread the apple filling evenly over the baked crust.
Take the reserved ½ cup of dough crumbs out of the refrigerator and sprinkle them over the apple filling.
Bake at 180°C / 350°F for 20–25 minutes, until the filling is set and the crumble topping is crisp and golden.
Remove from the oven and allow the pie to cool slightly before slicing.
Good to Know
You can make the crust with either 80% spelt flour or white spelt flour. I make it both ways.
If you’re using pear purée, look for one made with 100% pears and no added sugar.
Baking times can vary slightly between ovens, so toward the end, keep an eye on the color of the crust and crumble topping.
The pie is delicious chilled too, although there usually isn’t much left by the time ours makes it to the fridge 🤭
If you make it, I’d really love to hear how it turned out 🤍
