Yesterday I prepared a delicious pie with apples marinated in Calvados. It's an adults only version... Why? I peeled, cored, cut and marinated the apples, but only managed to prepare the pie 2 days later. The apples were in perfect shape, but so flavored, filled-like with Calvados, that I decided this is definitely an adults only pie. For decorative purpose I used some rosehips, but they added no specific taste to the pie.
As for Calvados, I used Calvados Comte Louis de Lauriston, as the bottle looked so nice, with a big apple inside it. The bottle is fixed in the tree right after the flowering, so the apple grows inside the bottle. So perfect! From the apple and pear tree covered hills of the Domfrontais region, this Calvados is distilled only once, then aged in oak barrels. Very flavored, perfect for my favorite pie. Have a beautiful autumn ♥
1 kg apples, peeled and seeded, cut in thin slices
100 ml Calvados
25 g melted, unsalted butter
pie dough (recipe follows)
115 g brown sugar
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon + 1/4 tsp ground allspice + 1/4 tsp nutmeg + 1/4 tsp ground cardamon
1 tsp vanilla extract
zest of one lemon + zest of one orange
Pie dough - Jamie's recipe
500 g flour, sieved100 g confectioner's sugar, sieved
250 g very cold butter, diced
thin zest of one lemon
2 big eggs
4-5 tbsp milk
Marinate the apples in Calvados for a couple of hours (initially I wanted to marinate it for a couple of hours, but in the end they marinated for 2 days).
Mix flour, butter and sugar; add the lemon zest and mix a bit more. Add eggs and milk, mixing a little, until the dough becomes homogenous. Avoid over mixing. Give the dough a round shape, wrap it in plastic foil and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven at 180 degrees Celsius. Brush the pie dish with some butter. Cut the pie dough in halves, put one half on a floured surface and roll it until you have a sheet of 5 mm thickness. Put the dough sheet in the pie dish, covering also the sides of the dish. Brush it with melted butter. Mix the marinated apples, sugar, spices, vanilla extract, lemon and orange zest, then pour it in the pie dish.
Prepare the second pie sheet (the same thickness), put it over the pie dish, press the dough on the sides, sealing the edges. Cut a flower shape in the dough, brush with melted butter, spread over some cinnamon and brown sugar.
Bake the pie for 50 - 60 minutes.
Full of flavor, absolutely delicious. We loved to serve it with ice cream. Enjoy!
