Last summer, when I went to the historical garden Warmoes, where I harvest fruit and vegetables for my cooking classes, I saw some delicious apples hanging from the trees. The thermometer showed 39°C but nonetheless they inspired me to make a typically Dutch apple pie. If you don’t want to eat this delicious pie in summer, you can always keep the recipe for the cold, winter days.
The first printed Dutch cookbook appears in 1514 in Brussels . It is called Een notabel boecxken van cokeryen (a notable book of cookery). It is filled with many tasty recipes involving the use of luxurious products, and it also has a great apple pie recipe. The apples are richly seasoned and cooked in a luscious layer of dough. The spices used to season these apples are the most expensive ingredients in the 16th century. Back then, this was a pie that was only eaten by the richest people in town. Nowadays, everyone can enjoy it.
The Oldest Dutch Apple Pie
We are used to making tasty, firm crusts for our pies, which are a part of the whole pie. During the late Middle Ages, this was not always done. Pie recipes were usually only about the filling, not the crust. It was custom to just eat the inside of the pie.
Another habit was adding a liquid to the pie halfway through baking, they added a sauce, broth or heavy cream, for instance. They cooked the filling until it was done and then added some extra moisture and spices to it. This method led to a mess in my kitchen some times, especially whenever I used a baking tin with separate parts to make the crust. It is best to use a closed-off mould.
Ingredients
Dough
250 grams flour
100 grams of butter
80 ml of water
½ egg
Pinch of salt
Filling
8 big apples (goudreinet)
60 grams of cane sugar
½ tsp grains of paradise
½ tsp ginger
½ tsp cinnamon
½ tsp tail pepper
¼ tsp nutmeg
¼ tsp cloves
¼ tsp mace
100 ml cream
Preparation
Make a supple dough by mixing the flour, water, egg and salt and kneading it for a short time. Wrap it in plastic wrap and let it rest in the fridge for 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven at 180 °C. Peel the apples and remove the cores, cut the apples in small pieces. Mix it with the spices and cane sugar. Grease the pie mould and put the apples in. Spread the dough and cover the filled mould. Bake the pie for approximately 45 minutes until it is golden brown.
Cut a big hole in the top and remove it. Add the cream. Stir it. Put the top back on top of the pie. Put the apples on a plate and add a nice piece of dough before serving.