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4 from 1 vote

Deep Dish Almond Apple Pie

Makes one 9” apple pie in Spring Form Pan: 8 servings.
Prep Time1 hour
Cook Time1 hour 30 minutes
Total Time2 hours 30 minutes
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: Canadian
Servings: 12 -16
Author: Valerie Lugonja

Ingredients

Pastry Ingredients:

  • ½ cup or g all purpose flour
  • 1 cup or g almond meal (finely ground)
  • ¼ cup of 60g granulated white sugar
  • 1 ½ teaspoon or 7.5g baking powder
  • pinch or 1.5g salt
  • 1/4 cup cold unsalted butter , cubed
  • 1 egg
  • 1 teaspoon or 5g vanilla bean paste , or vanilla extract, or the seeds scraped from ½ a vanilla bean
  • 1 teaspoon almond extract

Apple Filling Ingredients:

  • 1 cup homemade almond paste , cubed
  • Scant 3 lbs baking apples (use a variety to enhance flavour: Macintosh for traditional apple flavour, Granny Smith for tartness and to maintain shape, Gala to add sweetness and depth)
  • ½ cup granulated white sugar
  • ¼ cup melted unsalted butter
  • 1 tablespoon all purpose flour
  • zest and juice of ½ a lemon
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste , or vanilla extract, or the seeds scraped from 1/2 a vanilla bean

Topping Ingredients:

  • ¼ cup unsalted butter
  • ¼ cup whipping cream
  • 1 ½ tablespoons honey
  • pinch salt
  • 1 cup sliced almonds , toasted

Instructions

Pastry Instructions:

  • In bowl of a food processor, pulse to combine first 6 ingredients until mixture resembles slow cooking oats
  • Whisk together the egg and vanilla
  • Pour egg mixture over the flour mixture and pulse until it begins to clump together Knead gently to gather into a ball; wrap in plastic wrap and chill for a few hours or overnight
  • Meanwhile, make the. almond paste
  • Preheat the oven to 400˚F
  • Roll chilled pastry into an 11-inch circle between two floured pieces of parchment paper: as this is a very sticky, delicate dough: parchment paper and flour are needed to successfully work this dough into a round
  • Peel off paper, as needed, and sprinkle dough with flour to ensure it doesn’t stick
  • Line 9-inch spring-form pan with pastry, pressing it about 1½ inches up the sides. (If the pastry tears, patch it )
  • Dock pastry with fork and chill until firm (about 15 minutes) in freezer
  • Line chilled pastry with foil and fill with pie weights or dried beans; bake in preheated 400˚F oven for 15 minutes, until sides are set
  • Gently remove foil and weights; bake another 5 minutes, until bottom of pastry is dry
  • Remove from oven; reduce oven temperature to 350˚F
  • Meanwhile, peel and core apples

Filling Instructions:

  • Toss apple slices together with remaining apple filling ingredients
  • Cook mixture over medium heat for 5 – 7 minutes, until apples begin to release juice and “sauce” coating them is thick and transluscent (no longer floury)

Topping Instructions (prepare this only after tart shell is filled with apple filling):

  • Toast almonds (just a reminder)
  • In small saucepan, bring first 4 topping ingredients to a boil over medium heat
  • Boil without stirring for 2 – 3 minutes, then add sliced almonds and boil for another minute
  • Spoon almond mixture over the apples and spread evenly

Putting it all Together:

  • Chop almond paste into little bits and sprinkle evenly over bottom of par-baked pastry
  • Pour apple mixture over almond bits and spread evenly
  • Spoon almond topping mixture over the apples and spread evenly
  • Bake pie in preheated 350˚F oven for 40 minutes, until apples in the middle of pie are soft
  • Allow to cool to room temperature (or just slightly warm) before running a knife around the edge of the spring-form pan to loosen; remove sides of the pan
  • Cut into slices and serve with vanilla ice cream or a dollop of creme fraiche