Polish apple pie from my mom's cookbook - classic "szarlotka"

 

I love apples! Well, who doesn't? This recipe for a delicious apple pie comes from a family cookbook my mom wrote and gave me when I moved to Greece - I mentioned it on another occasion - when I was making a brownie.
Apple pie (szarlotka) is a perfect dessert no matter what time of a year it is. In the Summer it tastes amazing with some ice cream on top, in the Winter it's perfect with a cup of tea or hot chocolate. It smells delicious - apples and cinnamon is a mouth-watering combination for me! Plus this apple pie comes with a light foam and sweet crumble on top - what else could I possibly need?

INGREDIENTS:

• 3 cup flour
• 250g unsalted butter
• 4 eggs
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1tsp baking powder
• 1kg apples
• 20g vanilla sugar
• 1tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 cup raisins

Separate yolks and egg whites. Mix flour, baking powder and 1/2 cup sugar. Add yolks and butter cut in small pieces. Combine all of these ingredients into a smooth dough by hand or using a "K" shaped tip of your mixer. Shape it into a ball, wrap in a plastic foil and put in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.

Peel your apples and cut them into small pieces. Place in a pot, sprinkle with cinnamon and let them simmer for about 20 minutes - until they get a little soft, but not falling apart. Add raisins and vanilla sugar and set aside to cool down.

Preheat your oven to 200°C (392°F). To prevent your pie from sticking to the baking pan, brush it with a little bit of butter and sprinkle with bread crumbs or simply use a baking paper.

Roll out flat 2/3 of your dough - approximately to match the size of your baking pan. You can also use your fingers and do it piece by piece - flattening dough directly on the pan. Next, add a layer of apples. Set it aside and prepare whites.
 

Using a whisk whip the egg whites you got from separating eggs in the beginning. Spoon by spoon add the rest of sugar (1/4 cup), while still whisking. Whip it until stiff and fluffy - whites should maintain their shape. Plus you might do a test by turning a mixing bowl upside down - if they don't fall, you're good!

Gently spread whites on your pie as a next layer. As the last layer use the left 1/3 of your dough and either crumble it with your fingers or grate on grater with large mesh. Sprinkle the crumbles on top of your pie.

Bake for about 45-50 minutes until slightly golden on top - your kitchen will fill up with an amazing scent of apples of cinnamon - I love that smell!
You can serve szarlotka still warm (with vanilla ice cream - yummy!), but it's easier to cut in pieces if you let it cool down completely.

Bon appetite!