This is
important.
I know we are
all busy right now, but there is something that needs to be communicated
immediately, and I know of no better channel: Salted Caramel Apple Pie, people.
Salted Caramel Apple Pie!
Are you making
an apple pie for Thanksgiving? Good. Me too. Now, slowly back away from that
age-old, standard recipe that lies tattered on your countertop, ready to go.
(It’s hard, I know. It’s going to be okay, I promise. Your grandmother will
eventually forgive you.) Replace it instead with that one, down there. The one
in that not-at-all romantic, not-even-a-little-bit-nostalgic hyperlink. (Gah!
It’s like I don’t even know myself anymore.)
I was reluctant
at first, too. It’s hard to let go of a favorite recipe. And this new recipe,
well, it seems too fancy in a way. It seems like it will most certainly be a
letdown—especially for those of us who like our apple pies and our fruit
desserts simple, the way they used to be. Well, this recipe
might change things for you. And it’s worth a try—just once—to do something a
little different. It is a holiday, after all.
Apart from the
flaky, tender crust (perfumed with the slightest whiff of apple cider vinegar),
and the tart apples that have been baking in autumn spices, oozing down to a
sublime version of their former selves, the thing that really clinches this, as
you may have gathered from the title, is the salted caramel. Caramel that you
make on the stovetop as a separate step; that you sprinkle with Maldon sea
salt; that becomes amber and beautiful and that makes your whole house smell like
sugar and cream. You take this caramel and you drizzle about half of it over
the apples in the pie. Then you make your lattice. The other half of the caramel?
Well, that you warm
up later and drizzle over each slice as you serve it. Extra props if you’ve had
the wherewithal to also make some whipped cream—it will glide over your warm
pie into a lovely, creamy, caramel-specked puddle.
The real benefit
here is that this pie actually improves with age. It was leaps and bounds
better after it’d had 12 hours in the fridge to mellow. Heat it up a bit before
serving, and let the caramel do the talking. Your guests will do that
incredibly gratifying thing of being totally quiet—hushed by the delicious food
that is before them. Focused
eating. Quiet, happy,
focused eating.
That’s my plan
for Thursday.
Happy
Thanksgiving, friends.
Salted
Caramel Apple Pie
The recipe comes
from the newly released Four & Twenty Blackbirds Pie Book.
Find it,
in very unromantic form, here. (I’m waiting for my actual copy in the mail.)
Really
helpful tips on how to make a lattice (effortlessly) via the Kitchn.
Some notes to
guide you through: This
pie is very lemony, especially the first day. If you prefer something a little
less tart, I would cut the amount of lemon juice in half. Next, I prepared the
apples before I rolled out the dough (not what the recipe suggests, but it
worked great). For the caramel: The recipe linked above provides no reference
on how long it will take to achieve caramel; mine took about 20 minutes. The
trick is to watch it closely and to wait for it to become a deep amber color.
Be careful as you stir the caramel mixture—it will be scalding hot. To achieve
total pie perfection, give the pie at least 12 hours to mellow in the fridge
(24 or more is ok, too). Lastly, although this is not detailed in the recipe, I
strongly recommend using the extra caramel to drizzle over each slice of pie that
is served. This simple action completes it.
