Apple pie with vanilla caramel sauce
Classic apple pie
Apple pie with vanilla ice-cream and salted caramel sauce may just be one of my favorite fall/winter recipes. It‘s difficult for me to choose one favorite fall recipe, but this one fore sure is in my top 3.
Apple pie paired with warm homemade caramel sauce and vanilla ice-cream just embodies the cozy warm feeling of fall/winter. It‘s an absolute comfort food if you ask me and this recipe is really easy to make.
This recipe consists of a flaky pie crust, a sweet tender apple filling and rich caramel vanilla sauce. To top it off you can add vanilla ice-cream or for example my recipe for Fior di latte ice-creamwhich would pair fantastic in this recipe as well.
This apple pie recipe for sure is more of an American style baked good rather than something typically Swiss or German or even Finnish. But I love a cake that has a lot of fruity filling paired with a crunchy dough. Add some homemade caramel sauce and ice-cream and it‘s a favorite of almost everyone.
Why you’ll love this apple pie recipe:
1.It’s easy to make: who doesn’t love a recipe that is easy to make.
2. SO delicious! I don’t think I need to say more 😉
3. Flaky, buttery pie crust: this pie crust is so flaky and buttery and works so well with the juice apple filling. It comes together quickly and is easy to handle.
2. The filling: I find this filling perfectly balance between not too sweet and not too tart. (Depends of the apple you are using of course)
Ingredients you’ll need to make this apple pie:
For the apple filling:
Apples: I like to use a mix of 2 different types of apples. Sweet and tart to have a nice balance in flavor. I use the variety such as Braeburn and a sweeter variety such as Jazz apple, Gala, Pink Lady. (These are varieties found in Switzerland)
Sugar: I use white cane sugar and light brown sugar for this recipe
Lemon juice: use fresh squeeze lemon juice to add balance and also stop the apples from oxidizing
Cornstarch: this helps bind the juice of the apples and creates a thicker apple filling that won’t leak into the pastry crust.
Flour: this also helps bind the apple filling so it has the right consistency when baking
Butter: I use unsalted or lightly salted butter in the filling and for the crust.
Vanilla: make sure to use a good quality vanilla. I used vanilla powder (from Vanilla Dream) in this recipe as it’s easier to mix in
Cinnamon: use a good quality cinnamon powder
Salt: use regular table salt
For the pie crust:
Flour: I use an all purpose flour (type 550)
Butter: you can use cold either an unsalted or lightly salted butter for the crust. Cut into small cubes
Water: use ice cold water
Salt: use regular table salt
For the vanilla caramel sauce:
Sugar: white cane sugar works best for the caramel
Cream: use a full fat whipping cream with 35% fat
Butter: cold, cubed butter. Preferably unsalted
Vanilla: make sure to use a good quality vanilla. I use a vanilla pod for the caramel sauce
Salt: I like to use flaky sea salt such as Maldon or any other flaky salt will work. Another option is to also use table salt.
How to make apple pie (step-by-step)
1. Make the pie crust:
Start by making the pie crusts.
1. Mix the salt with the water and give it a stir and set it aside (keep it in the fridge until ready to use)
2. Add the flour and the cold, cubed butter into the bowl of your standing mixer. With the paddle attachment mix on low speed until you reach a crumble like consistency. Add the cold water-salt mixture and mix until you achieve a cohesive dough. The dough can still have small clumps of butter (it doesn’t need to be completely smooth)
3. Take the dough out of the bowl and shape it with your hand into a disc and wrap in cling film. Place the dough into the fridge and let it rest for at least 2 hours, better yet overnight.
2. Make the apple filling:
1. Wash and peel the apples. Cut them into quarters, remove the core and then thinly slice into about 0.5cm thick pieces. Place into a large bowl and add the juice of 1/2 lemon and the brown sugar. Let the apples sit for about 10 minutes.
After about 10 minutes sieve out the excess liquid from the apples (it normally won’t be too much, but you want to remove it to avoid a too soggy filling)
2. In a medium pot bring the butter, brown sugar, white sugar, cinnamon and vanilla to a simmer. Add the flour and cornstarch and mix well while constantly stirring. You want the flour and cornstarch to start binding the liquid. Once it has come to another boil add the sliced apple pieces and let it simmer on low heat four about 10 minutes until the apples begin to soften.
Remove from the heat and place into another bowl to cool down for at least 20 minutes before placing into your pie dish.
3. Roll out the pie crust:
1. Roll out the dough on a floured surface or between 2 pieces of baking paper. Roll out from the center outwards and rotate the dough to anchieve an even thickness. Roll out the dough out until about 3cm in thickness.
2. Place the dough into your pie dish or ring mold. (I didn’t have a proper pie dish so I used a round baking cake tin 20cm) so you’ll need to cut out the bottom part of the pie and then make a long strip with the rest of the dough the line the edge. Press the edges to the ring and to the bottom part of the dough so you dont have any holes where the apple filling can leak out of.
3. Roll out the rest of the dough to use as decorative strip on top. Keep in the fridge until ready to use.
4. Place pie dish/cake ring lined with dough into the fridge until you are ready to fill it with the apple pilling.
4. Add the apple filling:
Add your apple filling into to chilled pie crust and press it down a little bit with a spatula. (You don’t want to press it too much to compress it) decorate the top of the pie crust with the left over dough strips and cut of the excess from the edges.
Brush the top of the pie with egg wash.
5. Bake & serve:
Bake the apple pie in a pre-heated oven at 175°C for about 35-45 minutes until golden brown and bubbling.
Let it cool down slightly before cutting and serving. Serve it with a scoop of our favorite vanilla ice and caramel sauce.
Tips for making apple pie with vanilla caramel sauce:
Picking the right apples: to get he best flavor and sweet-sour balance of the apple filling use 2 different types of apples. A sweet variety and a sour variety.
Use we good quality cinnamon and vanilla since you will notice the difference
Make the pie crusts a day before: so it has enough time to chill and rest
Make the caramel the day before: or even a couple days before. It lasts for up to 2 weeks in the fridge. So you can only focus on making the apple pie.
Serve the day of making the pie: it taste best fresh so sere it the day of making the pie. You can of course serve it the next day, just reheat it again. The pie crust will loose a little bit of its crunchy flakiness.
Serving ideas:
I love to serve this apple pie simply with good vanilla ice-cream and caramel sauce. Just on its own is delicious, but I like to serve it slightly warm and then with the combination of the cold ice-cream is just a dream. The caramel sauce adds a little saltyness and extra indulgence but you can serve it without as well.
Vanilla caramel sauce
This is my go-to caramel recipe! I’ve been making it for years and it is so versatile and I use it for so many desserts and also for drinks.
FAQ’S:
How do I choose the best apples for the apple filling?:
For the apple filling your best choice is to mix 2 types of apples. One that is sweet and another one that is sour. I also like to also choose the apples so that I have one that has a soft consistency when cooked and the other that keeps its shape better when cooked. You can of course just make this apple pie with the apples you have at hand, but the consistency and sweetness may vary depending on the type of apples you use.
Should I peel the apple for the filling?
I like to peel the apples for the apple pie filling. It gives a smoother and nicer texture when eating.
How do I keep my apple pie from getting a soggy bottom crust?
For this your apple filling has to be of a thicker consistency. Add in some cornstarch which will help bind the juices of the apples.
Once the apples are cut into slices, allow them to sit in a bowl for about 20-30 minutes as they will loose some liquid and it will help your apple filling be a bit thicker when cooked.
How do I know when my apple pie is done baking?
The apple pie will be done baking when it has a dark golden brown color. And the apple filling bubbles and has a caramel like consistency.
Can I make the vanilla caramel ahead of time?
Yes, absolutely! You can make the vanilla caramel even 3 weeks in advance and store it in an airtight container in the fridge or even freeze it.
