Dutch Apple Pie: a delicious dessert with a secret ingredient

Here’s a modern-day twist on an old favorite!

This Dutch apple pie has shortcrust pastry on the bottom, a middle layer of apples and aromatic sweet spices, and it’s topped with crunchy oat crumble topping. The secret ingredient in the crumble topping is ground almonds, which give a divine crunch and taste along with the oats, butter and sugar.

You can make the shortcrust pastry from scratch, or buy ready-rolled sheets of it from the supermarket to save time.

Serve this apple pie with a scoop of ice cream, with custard, or with cream. Or just enjoy a slice on its own with a cup of good coffee.

Instructions

Roll prepared pastry out to fit a large pie dish.

Filling:

Melt butter in a large pot. Add brown and white sugar and water and stir to combine.

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Step 1

Melt butter in a large pot. Add brown and white sugar and water and stir to combine.

Add flour, cornstarch, cinnamon, nutmeg, lemon zest and vanilla and mix until incorporated.

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Step 4

Add flour, cornstarch, cinnamon, nutmeg, lemon zest and vanilla and mix until incorporated.

Add apple slices and mix carefully until apples are coated with the sauce.

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Step 7

Add apple slices and mix carefully until apples are coated with the sauce.

Pour into the pie crust.

Topping:

Put almonds, rolled oats, brown sugar, flour and cinnamon in a food processor. Process until you get fine crumbs.

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Step 10

Pour into the pie crust.

Add butter and pulse a few times. Sprinkle evenly over pie filling.

Bake for 45 minutes in preheated 350 F/160 C fan/gas mark 4 oven.

Notes:

If you want a topping that has larger crumbs, squeeze the topping between your fingers when it’s on the pie filling to create small clumps of crumbs.