Portions: 6 servings Calories: 654kcal |
This ginger apple pie is a heavenly treat, replete with the flavors of apples, ginger, and a hint of spice. Learn how to make this great dessert from scratch with this recipe.
Why I ❤️ it • Recipe • Ingredients • Preparation
Ginger apple pie.
Why I ❤️ it
If you feel like making an apple pie (and you should), this spiced ginger apple pie is going to be the talk of the town for weeks. Clearly, this is not the traditional American apple pie, but it is one that once you try it, you'll have a hard time making any other kind of apple pie.
If you know your way around a classic apple pie you'll notice a few changes to the traditional recipe, mainly the pre-cooked apples, and not having to pre-bake the crust.
Apple ginger pie recipe
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Utensils and tools
- Food processor
- Large bowl
- Plastic wrap
- Large saucepan or medium pot
- Non-stick 9-inch pie dish or 6 small
Ingredients
For the crust
- ½ cup blanched chopped almonds, [75g]
- 1 cup all-purpose flour, [120 g]
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar, [12 g]
- ¾ sticks of salted butter, [85 g], chilled and diced
- ½ cup ice water, [237 ml]
Apple filling
- 8 apples, (see notes)
- ¼ sticks of salted butter, [57g], melted
- A tablespoon of lemon juice
- ½ teaspoon clove powder
- 1 teaspoon of grated fresh ginger (see notes)
- ¾ cup brown sugar, [150g]
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon powder
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour, [30 g]
For the egg wash
- 1 yolk of a large egg
- 1 tablespoon milk (whole or skim)
- ¼ white teaspoon of granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon salted butter, melted
To assemble
- 1 cup all-purpose flour for dusting work surface [120 g]
Preparation
Before starting, please make sure you have all the ingredients and utensils ready.
Step 1: Mix ingredients for the dough
Ground the almond in the food processor to make coarse crumbs half the size of a grain of rice. Add flour, sugar, and butter. Pulse until it resembles peas. Add the cold water slowly, until the dough piles up into one big chunk.
Step 2: Let it rest
Remove from the bowl. Form a ball, wrap in plastic film, put it in a bowl, and leave it to rest in the refrigerator till you need it again.
Step 3: Mix apple filling ingredients
Core, peel, and cut the apples into either slices or cubes (your preference).
In a saucepan or pot, mix the apples with butter, lemon juice, cloves, ginger, sugar, and cinnamon.
Step 4: Cooking the apple filling
Cover the saucepan and heat over very low heat (it should not reach a boil while cooking ) until the apples are cooked through but firm, stir gently once or twice to cook uniformly. This may take about 15 minutes, but the time will depend on the variety of apple you use (see notes).
Remove apples from the heat and cool to room temperature. Once cooled, Sprinkle them with the flour until they are coated completely. Chill the apple mixture in the refrigerator.
Step 5: Making the egg wash
In a small bowl, combine egg yolk, milk, sugar, and butter. Whisk to combine.
Step 6: Rolling out the dough
Roll out the dough into a big circle or 6 small ones (if you make it into tartlets) on a lightly floured surface to prevent it from sticking.
Wrap the dough disk on the rolling pin to lift it off the surface.
Step 7: Assembling
Place the dough on a pie pan, and press lightly to shape it, covering the sides and bottom uniformly, and cutting the excess pastry with a knife.
Brush the inside of the crust with the egg wash. Chill in the freezer while the oven is preheating.
Step 8: Baking
Preheat oven temperature to 350 ºF [200 ºC].
Scoop the apple filling into the pie crust. Bake the pie for 15 - 20 minutes or until the crust turns golden brown.
Step 9: Serving
Remove from oven and cool until warm to the touch before serving, or serve at room temperature.
Top tips
- For this pie, granny smith apples are my preferred choice. However, there is a reason for precooking the apples: Not all apple varieties are good for this dish, but I don't always have a choice, I have to get what I find in our local supermarket. Pre-cooking the apples solves this problem.
- This recipe borrows a couple of touches from Elise Bauer's Old Fashioned Apple Pie (mainly the almond crust).
- You can make either a big pie (9" pan) or 6 small (single-serving) apple pies, with or without a cover. I tried several combinations.
- You can double the ingredients for the crust and make a top crust for the pie. In that case, roll out two circles of dough, and save one in the fridge to cover the pie after it has been filled with the apple mixture. Pinch the sides and prick the top with a fork, or make slits with a knife for the steam to escape.
- Use the excess dough and cut with cookie cutters to make decorations for the top crust.
- If you don't have a non-stick springform pie dish, you may need to line the bottom of the dish with a circle of parchment paper so the bottom crust does not stick to the dish.
Serving suggestions
You can serve this on its own or serve each slice with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
Substitutions
Use 2 tablespoons of ginger powder if you don't have fresh ginger
If you only have unsalted butter, add ½ teaspoon of salt per butter stick.
Nutritional information
Calories: 654kcal - Carbohydrates: 106g - Protein: 11g - Fat: 23g - Saturated Fat: 8g - Cholesterol: 59mg - Sodium: 99mg - Potassium: 531mg - Fiber: 10g - Sugar: 56g - Vitamin A: 470IU - Vitamin C: 11.1mg - Calcium: 120mg - Iron: 4mg
FAQs
Do you prebake apple pie filling?
It isn't necessary if you get good apples for pies (like granny Smith), but some apples may need to be pre-cooked in a saucepan to tenderize them beforehand. It has the added benefit of adding extra flavors from spices of your choice.
Is it better to bake the crust before putting the apples in?
This isn't necessary, the buttery crust cooks very fast, so it will probably get scorched if you bake it twice.
How do you get pies from getting watery or mushy apples?
Coating the apples in flour helps keep them from getting mushy, and makes a lovely creamy filling.
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Ginger-Spiced Apple Pie
Ingredients
FOR THE CRUST
- ½ cup almonds blanched chopped, [75g]
- 1 cup all-purpose flour [120 g]
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar [12 g]
- ¾ sticks salted butter [85 g], chilled and diced
- ½ cup ice water [237 ml]
APPLE FILLING
- 8 apples (see notes)
- ¼ sticks of salted butter [57g], melted
- A tablespoon of lemon juice
- ½ teaspoon clove powder
- 1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger see notes
- ¾ cup brown sugar [150g]
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon powder
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour [30 g]
FOR THE EGG WASH
- 1 yolk of a large egg
- 1 tablespoon milk whole or skim
- ¼ teaspoon granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon salted butter melted
TO ASSEMBLE
- 1 cup all-purpose flour for dusting work surface [120 g]
Instructions
To make the crust
- Ground the almond in the food processor to make coarse crumbs half the size of a grain of rice. Add flour, sugar, and butter. Pulse until it resembles peas. Add the cold water slowly, until the dough piles up into one big chunk.
Let it rest
- Remove from the bowl. Form a ball, wrap in plastic film, put it in a bowl, and leave it to rest in the refrigerator till you need it again.
To make the apple filling
- Core, peel, and cut the apples into either slices or cubes (your preference).In a saucepan or pot, mix the apples with butter, lemon juice, cloves, ginger, sugar, and cinnamon.
Cooking the apple filling
- Cover the saucepan and heat over very low heat (it should not reach a boil while cooking ) until the apples are cooked through but firm, stir gently once or twice to cook uniformly. This may take about 15 minutes, but the time will depend on the variety of apples you use (see notes). Remove apples from the heat and cool to room temperature. Once cooled, Sprinkle them with the flour until they are coated completely. Chill the apple mixture in the refrigerator.
Making the egg wash
- In a small bowl, combine egg yolk, milk, sugar, and butter. Whisk to combine.
Rolling out the dough
- Roll out the dough into a circle on a lightly floured surface to prevent it from sticking.Wrap the dough disk on the rolling pin to lift off the surface.
Assembling
- Place the dough on a pie pan, and press lightly to shape it, covering the sides and bottom uniformly, and cutting the excess pastry with a knife.Brush the inside of the crust with the egg wash. Chill in the freezer while the oven is preheating.
Baking
- Preheat oven temperature to 350 ºF [200 ºC].Scoop the apple filling into the pie crust. Bake the pie for 15 - 20 minutes or until the crust turns golden brown.
Serving
- Remove from the oven and let it cool down until it feels warm to the touch.
Notes
Originally published on Dec 24, 2012
Anne Marie
You mention not all apples are good for this recipe and that you use what is available to you at the time. But I didn't find any additional instructions or clues as to which varieties you have found to be best. Otherwise, our daughter traditionally makes a different apple pie recipe for Thanksgiving each year and this year we're excited to try yours !! Hoping you and yours have a safe and happy holiday !
Thanks very much !
Melissa from HungryFoodLove.com
oh yes! jengibre is such a treasured flavor in Dominican cooking. I bet their warmth made the apple pie so much better.
Corey
Thanks for sharing your recipe. The pictures and post were beautiful.
Amity
Wow, I love your writing in this post. The memories we make with the people we love. Excellent essay. And I am sure the pie was very very good.