This apple pie with crispy meringue takes the classic dessert to a whole new level. Buttery shortcrust, cinnamon-spiced apple filling and a billowy meringue topping baked until crisp and lightly golden. If you love homestyle bakes like our farmer cheese yeast pie or a simple banana cake with chocolate glaze, this showstopper is for you.
Ingredients
- For the dough: 300 g (2 1/2 cups) flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- Pinch of salt
- 100 g (7 tbsp) cold butter
- 1 egg
- 80 g (1/3 cup) sugar
- For the filling: 3 apples
- 3 tbsp sugar
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 30 g (2 tbsp) butter
- 1 tbsp starch
- 1/2 cup water
- For the meringue: 3 egg whites
- 2/3 cup sugar
- Pinch of salt
Instructions
- For the filling, dice the apples and stew with the sugar, cinnamon, and butter until soft; stir in the starch dissolved in water and cook 2 minutes more. Cool.
- For the dough, mix all ingredients into a soft dough and chill 20-30 minutes.
- Press the dough into a pan, add the filling, and bake at 190C (375F) for 20 minutes.
- For the meringue, whip the whites with salt, gradually adding the sugar, to stiff peaks.
- Spread the meringue over the pie and bake 15 more minutes at 150C (300F) until set. Cool slightly before serving.
Tips
Keep the butter cold and don’t overwork the dough for the flakiest crust. Whip the meringue to stiff, glossy peaks and spread it right to the edges to seal in the filling — much like the cloud-like topping on our whipped apple soufflé. Serious Eats has a wonderful guide to meringue technique if you want to go deeper.
Nutrition (per 100 g): 135.8 kcal, protein 6.5 g, fat 2.3 g, carbs 21.8 g.