A magnificent Chocolate Cream Pie with a chocolate biscuit base, a creamy smooth chocolate custard filling, topped with clouds of cream. Also known as a chocolate pudding pie, it tastes like a cross between chocolate mousse and Chocolate Bavarian Pie!

Chocolate Cream Pie

As a kid, I’d get so excited on the rare occasion my mother would splurge on a chocolate bavarian pie. I’m talking about the kind sold in the freezer section of supermarkets. Not a fancy patisserie cake made with the beautiful French bavarian cream, crème bavaroise.

I thought it was the best thing ever. Just the right amount of crumbly biscuity base. That chocolatey creamy filling.

And it would still be the best thing ever had I not learnt to cook it myself! While the biscuit base isn’t too different, the chocolate layer is absolutely no comparison. Homemade has real chocolate flavour and a mouthfeel that store-bought never will.

My childhood bavarian pie also evolved with the addition of a generous cloud of whipped cream, which is just heavenly with the chocolate filling, Hence, re-christened as a Chocolate Cream Pie.

I could eat this every day. I predict you will feel the same!

What’s in a Chocolate Cream Pie

This Chocolate Cream Pie is a classic combination with:

1. chocolate cookie base – made from Oreo cookies which gives it an extra intense chocolate flavour.

2. chocolate filling – it’s essentially a pudding, a creamy-but-light custard chocolate filling. If you want to get fancy, it is in fact a type of French chocolate custard called crème pâtissière. Fancy it may sound, but it’s actually a surprisingly simple custard that you see contestants in reality cooking shows frantically stressing about making silky smooth and thick, rather than gritty and runny.

   I’m sorry, but I don’t get it. It’s not hard to make. Not if you follow the very few simple steps required to make it! You’ll see in the recipe video.

3. whipped cream – the pie is topped with a mound of fluffy lightly sweetened vanilla whipped cream.

Dreamy is a word that comes to mind!

Ingredients in Chocolate Cream Pie

1. Chocolate filling ingredients

This custard / pudding is thickened with a combination of cornflour/cornstarch and egg yolks, enriched with butter and cream and flavoured with melted chocolate. It is DIVINE!

• Chocolate – I use a combination of 70% cocoa dark chocolate and milk chocolate for my ideal balance of chocolate flavour intensity (70% cocoa) and creamy chocolatey-ness (milk chocolate).

• Egg yolks – This helps the custard thicken and set as well as giving it a luxurious mouthfeel that frozen Sara-Lee chocolate bavarian pies can ever compare to!

  Also, here is a list of what I do with leftover egg whites.

• Cornflour / cornstarch – This is also used to thicken the custard.

• Cream and milk – The liquids for the custard. Cream is not typical for custards but it adds richness here! You can just use milk, if you’d prefer.

• Butter – This adds yet more richness into the custard.

• Sugar for sweetness (this is not overly sweet), vanilla for flavour and a pinch of salt to bring out the flavours (standard sweet baking practice these days).

**Forget Cool Whip** Shortcut recipes for chocolate pie fillings are pretty common on the internet. Some are made with Cool Whip (Australia, we don’t have this and I hope we never do, it’s an artificial thickened “cream” filling), or boxed chocolate pudding powder, marshmallows (too sweet for my taste), or a simple ganache filling (which is very dense and very rich).

For me, I believe that there are some things that should be done right. And if we’re going to make a homemade Chocolate Cream Pie – let’s make the best one we can! I promise it trumps boxed pudding powder.

2. Oreo Cookie pie base ingredients

I like making Chocolate Cream Pie with an Oreo Cookie pie crust. Made with crushed Oreo cookies, there’s terrific texture contrast with the creamy filling and an extra hit of chocolate. I also like the dark almost-black colour.

Here’s what you need:

• Oreo biscuits – I like using Oreo cookies for the texture and flavour, I find they’re more chocolate-y than most other chocolate biscuits. But any plain chocolate biscuits / cookies will work fine here, such as Arnott’s Chocolate Ripples.

• Melted butter – This is what makes the Oreo crumbs hold together to form a crust.

vanilla Whipped cream

And here’s what you need for the fluffy mound of whipped cream:

• Whipping cream – Make sure you use cream that can be whipped. Not all creams are, some are made for just pouring or dolloping. Read the label to check. And – NO LOW FAT! 🙂

• Vanilla for a touch of lovely flavour.

• Sugar – Not too much. Just a bit, to lightly sweeten.

How to make Chocolate Cream Pie

This is an almost no-bake recipe. The crust is baked for 10 minutes to make it extra crisp. The custard-pudding filling is cooked on the stove, poured into the crust then refrigerated overnight to set.

1. how to make the pie crust

I use a food processor to blitz the Oreo cookies. It takes seconds!

1. Blitz – Roughly break up the Oreo cookies by hand and drop into a food processor. Blitz into fine crumbs (~5 – 10 seconds). Add melted butter then blitz briefly just to mix through. The mixture should resemble wet sand.

2. Press – Pour into a 22.5cm/9″ pie tin. Use your hands / rubber spatula / something flat to press the crumbs firmly into the base and walls.

3. Bake for 10 minutes at 180°C/350°F (160° fan-forced). This makes the pie crust crisper.

4. Deflate – The crust puffs up in the oven. Gently deflate using a rubber spatula or similar – the base and walls. This too makes the pie crust crisper and firmer.

2. how to (EASILY) CUT A ROUND FROM PAPER

Before we get into the fun chocolate filling making part, a quick little tip for how to cut a circle from paper. Do this before you start the custard so you can cover the custard as soon as you pour it into the crust. It prevents a skin from forming on the surface which starts pretty quickly.

1. Baking paper – Tear a sheet of baking paper larger than the pie tine, then fold in half.

2. Fold in half again.

3. Then fold into a triangle.

4. Keep folding to form a long thin triangle.

5. Measure how large your pie dish is by placing the tip of the triangle above the centre of the pie tin. Cut off the end.

6. Then unfold. Voila! Neat circle that covers your pie!

3. how to make the chocolate filling

The chocolate filling ingredients are simply whisked on the stove which thickens into a custard as it heats up. The custard is pourable when hot, then sets so it’s cuttable once refrigerated.

1. Whisk dry – Place cornflour, sugar and salt in a medium saucepan. Whisk to combine.

2. Add liquids – Add milk, cream and yolks. Whisk to combine. Then whisk every now and then over medium high heat (or medium for strong gas stoves) as the mixture is heating up. Once the liquid is hot (around 3 – 5 minutes, you’ll see steam), turn the stove down to medium low and start to whisk constantly to ensure the base doesn’t catch. You will feel and see the mixture starting to thicken into a custard.

   45 second whisk to finish – When the mixture starts bubbling (around 4 minutes), whisk constantly for 45 seconds then take it off the stove. To see the bubbles, you will need to pause whisking. They will be slow, lazy bubbles! See video at 1:49 here.

   Lumps? Don’t fret! Take it off the stove and whisk vigorously, you should be able to whisk them out. Once smooth, return to the stove and continue. As a last resort, you can strain the custard at step 5.

3. Melt in chocolate – Remove off the stove. Add butter, chocolate and vanilla and whisk until the chocolate melts and the filling is smooth.

4. Thickness – The custard should have a thickness like honey. It will be pourable, but won’t mound.

5. Pour the custard straight into the pie crust.

6. Smooth the surface.

4. Setting and decorating

7. Cover – Immediately cover with a round piece of baking/parchment paper, pressing lightly so it is in contact with the surface. This will prevent a skin from forming. (Don’t use cling wrap, you’ll peel a thick layer of custard off which I know you’re thinking well then I get to lick it all off! But the reality is it’s actually quite difficult to do off cling wrap. Yes, I know from first hand experience. Stick with paper!!)

8. Refrigerate for 12 hours+ – Cool on the counter. Then refrigerate for 12 hours+ to ensure the custard fully sets.

   Don’t try to shortcut it and don’t think that you can cut a slice at the 3 hour mark because it seems pretty set! If you cut out a slice before it’s fully set, you will break the custard in the whole pie and it will never set again. Again, I know this from first hand experience from testing variation iterations of this Chocolate Cream Pie as well as this recipe, this recipe and this recipe!

9. Cream – Carefully peel off the paper then top with whipped cream.

10. Garnish with a sprinkle of grated chocolate, if desired. Then, it’s ready to devour!

Matters of serving and eating

Because it’s a pie, it’s best to serve it out of the pie tin. Removing the whole pie would be risky! Cut in the pie tin and lift (pulling the first slice out neatly is always a little tricky, if necessary, I will resort to a rubber spatula to get right underneath). The Oreo cookie crust holds together when sliced (see video and photos) but it crumbles a bit as you start eating it which makes the whole eating experience even better. Because, imagine this:

A big mouthful of rich, smooth, chocolatey filling with clouds of fluffy cream PLUS little bits of crumbled Oreo cookie…..

It’s just perfection!  – Nagi xx

PS If you want to make this ahead, do it up to 2 days ahead without the whipped cream weeping, then stabilise the whipped cream by adding marscapone. Information about stabilised whipped cream here, recipe is in the notes of the recipe card below.

Watch how to make it

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Chocolate Cream Pie

Recipe video above. This is a magnificent yet surprisingly straight forward pie that can be made days in advance of serving. A biscuit base, filled with a creamy pudding / chocolate custard filling and topped with clouds of cream that's made entirely from scratch. No pudding mix around here!

Course Dessert

Cuisine Western

Keyword Chocolate bavarian pie, chocolate cream pie, chocolate pudding pie

Prep Time 25 minutes minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes minutes

Cooling / refrigeration 15 hours hours

Total Time 55 minutes minutes

Servings 10 – 12

Calories 521cal

Ingredients

Crust:

• 25 Oreo biscuits , whole with filling in tact (244g / 8.5 oz) (Note 1)
• 60g / 4 tbsp unsalted butter , melted

Filling:

• 1/4 cup cornflour / cornstarch
• 2/3 cup caster sugar (superfine sugar)
• Pinch of salt
• 2 cups milk (whole or reduced fat, not zero fat)
• 1 cup cream (pouring or thickened/heavy), or sub with milk (Note 2)
• 4 egg yolks from large eggs (Note 3 for leftover whites)
• 2 tbsp / 30g unsalted butter , cut into 1cm / 0.5" cubes
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 150g/ 5 oz dark 70% cocoa chocolate or bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped (Note 4)
• 75g/ 3 oz milk chocolate , finely chopped (Note 4)

Whipped cream

• 1 1/2 cups thickened / heavy cream , for whipping
• 2 tbsp white sugar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Optional garnish

• Chocolate , for grating (optional decoration)

Cups – Metric

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F (160° fan-forced).
• Cut round paper – Cut a round piece of baking / parchment paper, the size of the pie dish (to prevent skin forming on custard). (Note 5)

Oreo cookie crust:

• Blitz – Break up Oreos roughly by hand and place in a food processor. Blitz into crumbs (~10 sec). Add butter, blitz to mix through. Mixture should resemble wet sand. (No food processor? Bash in ziplock bag with a rolling pin).
• Press – Pour into a 23cm / 9" pie dish. Spread crumbs out and press firmly into the base and up the walls using your hands, spatula or something flat.
• Bake for 10 minutes. Remove from oven – the crust will be slightly puffed. Press down gently using a rubber spatula (makes it even crustier!) then allow to cool on the counter before filling.

Filling (see video, it's helpful):

• Whisk dry, then wet – Place cornflour, sugar and salt in a large saucepan. Whisk to combine. Add milk, cream and yolks. Whisk to combine.
• Heat to thicken – Turn heat onto medium high. As the mixture warms up, whisk every now and then, but not constantly. As the liquid starts to get hot at around the 3 – 5 minute mark (you'll see steam), turn the stove down to medium low and start to whisk constantly. You will feel and see the mixture start to thicken. Got lumps? See Note 6!
• 45 second whisk – When you see slow, lazy bubbles (~6 minutes, you will need to pause whisking to see bubbles), whisk constantly for 45 seconds then take it off the stove.
• Chocolate and butter – Add butter, chocolate and vanilla. Whisk until chocolate melts and filling is smooth.

Assembling / setting custard

• Pour hot filling into pie crust, filling it right to the top, smooth surface. Gently place round baking paper on surface. (Surplus custard? Note 7)
• Cool on the counter for 2 hours then refrigerate for 12+ hours to allow the custard to fully set.
• Whipped cream – Beat whipped cream ingredients in a bowl on high for 2 to 3 minutes until softly whipped.
• Topping – Carefully peel back paper. Pile on the whipped cream, then grate chocolate across the surface.
• Serving – Keep the pie in the pie tin. Cut and serve!

Notes

1. Oreos – You will need 2 standard Oreo packets. There are 14 in each packet so you’ll use all of one packet and all but 3 in the 2nd packet.

Plain chocolate biscuits/cookies, like Arnott’s Chocolate Ripples, can also be used though the colour is not as an intense dark chocolate brown.

2. Cream – I like to add cream into the filling because it makes it just that touch more creamy and rich however, most chocolate custards / crème pâtissières are made with just milk. So you can just use milk if you wish – the filling may take 30 seconds or so longer to thicken.

3. Leftover egg whites – Here’s my list of what I do with them and all my egg white recipes can be found in this recipe collection.

4. Chocolate –I make this with a combination of dark and milk chocolate because the dark provides that intense chocolate flavour and the milk lightens the colour of the filling so it contrasts with the dark crust. You could make this entirely with milk or dark chocolate. 

Australia: For the 70% cocoa, Plaistow from the supermarkets is fine, Lindt is great! US: Ghirardelli is great too.

Chips or melts can be used as well, for a better quality option. However, I recommend using chocolate purchased from the baking aisle, not eating chocolate, as some brands are designed to not melt very well!

5. Cutting round – See recipe video at 55 seconds here. Fold a sheet of baking/parchment in half, then half again. Keep folding to make a long thin triangle with a pointy end. Measure how large your pie dish is by placing the tip of the triangle above the centre of the pie tin. Cut off the end, then unfold. Voila! Neat circle!

6. Lumpy custard? That’s ok! If you get them while on the stove, take it off the stove and whisk vigorously, this will remove most. If you’ve still got lumps after the chocolate is melted through, just strain the custard into the pie crust. 

7. Surplus custard? You might, it depends how high up the wall of the pie tin your crust goes. If you go all the way up you should use it all. If you have spare, just pour into a little ramekin and have a secret custard pot for yourself! (Maybe do this anyway 😈)

8. Storage – This pie will keep for around 3 days, then I notice the base starts softening a bit. Keep in the fridge. 

Stabilised cream – To prevent the cream from weeping, add 100g / 1/2 cup mascarpone into the cream, then beat until whipped. This will stabilise it so it doesn’t deflate for 2 – 3 days. More on stabilised cream here.

Nutrition per serving assuming 12 slices.

Nutrition

Serving: 173g | Calories: 521cal | Carbohydrates: 44g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 38g | Saturated Fat: 22g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 11g | Trans Fat: 0.3g | Cholesterol: 142mg | Sodium: 114mg | Potassium: 186mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 32g | Vitamin A: 1069IU | Vitamin C: 0.3mg | Calcium: 98mg | Iron: 3mg

Originally published in 2017. It’s such a personal favourite, I really wanted to re-publish it with better photos and a much improved recipe video. My skills have improved over the past 5 years with lots of practice!

Life of Dozer

Normally when I re-publish a recipe, I add a new Life of Dozer photo. But this one from 2017 is so lovely, I don’t want to change it!

From 2017, as originally published:

Not just food photos that Dozer photobombs….. This is a magnificent sun rise we had earlier this week. Once a year thing. Pretty, isn’t it?

The post Chocolate Cream Pie appeared first on RecipeTin Eats.

Apple Turnovers – handheld puff pastry pies baked with a cinnamon apple filling. Easy to make, the only question is: to fill with cream or not? There’s a case for both!!

Apple Turnovers

If you have golden flaky puff pastry and it’s stuffed with warm cinnamon apple cubes in a syrupy caramel sauce, you can’t really go wrong whichever path you go down for serving. But – options are a good thing – because wouldn’t life be boring if we all liked the same thing?

So, today, you have a choice of Apple Turnovers two ways – classic plain or cream filled!

1. Classic, plain – Served warm, fresh out the oven. Dusted with a little ice sugar to make it pretty with cream for dunking. The latter is not something you see in ordinary apple turnover recipes. In my world, I say it’s strongly, strongly recommended! Serving without is kind of like eating Apple Crumble without ice cream. You get it. 😇

2. Cream filled! Ah, the classic Aussie Apple Turnover. Now, here’s the thing! It’s cold – you can’t serve it warm else the cream melts. So you do lose out a bit on flavour – because warm filling tastes better than cold. But, you can’t beat the sentiment and total impracticality of biting into a giant cream filled apple turnover! Yeah, it’s messy. And we love it.

WHICH ONE I PREFER – While I have a big soft spot for cream filled turnovers, these days I tend to serve warm turnovers with cream for dunking. Easier and faster, plus the turnovers are extra good when warm!

Ingredients in apple turnovers

Here’s what you need to make apple turnovers.

Apple turnover cinnamon filling

• Apples – Granny Smith apples are my favourite apple option. Good balance of tartness with sweet, and they hold their shape. Most red apple varieties will break down more so you end up with a compote inside (which makes base soggy), and are sweeter. Also, not recommended to make this without pre-cooking apples, see post for more info.

• Cornflour / cornstarch – This thickens the apple juices to make a syrup so it doesn’t soak the base of the puff pastry. Nobody likes a turnover with a soggy base!

• Sugar – I use white sugar because I like to keep the syrup clearer. But brown sugar also works fine, and makes a slightly more caramely tasting syrup.

• Cinnamon – For flavour! Cinnamon plus apple is like basil and tomato, bread and butter, cheese and crackers.

• Vanilla – Also for flavour.

• Pinch of salt – This just brings out the flavours of everything else. It doesn’t make it salty at all. Standard practice in sweet baking.

Puff pastry

• Butter puff pastry is tastier than oil based puff pastry. It’s a little more expensive because butter is more expensive than oil, but it really is tastier.

  Size – Here in Australia, the most common way puff pastry is sold is in 25cm/10″ square sheets, frozen. There are some more premium brands sold in larger sheets that I use for special dishes like Beef Wellington. But for everyday purposes, I use the square ones which are handy for apple turnover because each sheet makes 4 nicely sized turnovers.

• Egg – This is for sealing the turnovers and brushing the surface so it comes out of the oven lovely and golden.

Cream

I have things to say about the cream options for Apple Turnovers. Read on!

For the cream – you’ll need either:

1. Soft whipped cream for dunking the plain turnovers (as mentioned above, optional but strongly, strongly recommended!). You want to use soft whipped cream so it’s dunkable; or

2. Stabilised whipped cream OR stiff whipped cream for the cream filled turnovers. You know how light and airy regular whipped cream is? Well, if you use that in apple turnovers, the cream will literally just squirt out completely with the first bite.

   So I recommend using stabilised whipped cream because it tastes like regular whipped cream but it’s stabilised so it doesn’t squirt out everywhere with the first bite. Plus the cream filled turnovers will last in the fridge for 24 – 36 hours without the cream melting and deflating. It’s really easy to make – just cream and mascarpone whipped together. Get the recipe here!

However, ordinary whipped cream tastes totally fine too. Just beat it so it’s stiff and pip-able. It will squirt out with the first bite. But that’s ok! Just mop it up!

How to make apple turnovers

Some recipes will skip cooking the apple filling on the stove. Tempting, I know. But it does make the base more soggy because the apple leeches more juices. Also, the apple pieces cook unevenly. It really is worth cooking the filling first!

Apple turnover filling

1. Cornflour / cornstarch – Put the apples in a large saucepan and toss with the cornflour / cornstarch. Tip: large saucepan is better because the apple juices evaporate faster so you get a thicker caramel coating on the apples. Small saucepan = more watery sauce.

2. Mix – Add the sugar, cinnamon, vanilla and salt then mix to coat.

3. Cook for 5 minutes on medium (or medium high on weaker stoves) until the apples are softened but still holding their shape. The sauce should thicken into a syrup.

4. Cool – Spread the filling onto a plate and let it cool completely. Don’t use a bowl, it makes the apples sweat more and thins the sauce.

Making the apple turnovers

TIP: Use puff pastry when it is barely thawed. Much easier to handle! Overly soft puff pastry gets floppy and sticky, and is a total pain to handle. If your puff pastry softens too much, just stick it back in the freezer for a bit.

1. Cut the barely thawed puff pastry into 4 equal pieces (12.5cm / 5″ squares).

2. Egg – Brush two sides of the pastry with the whisked egg.

3. Filling – Place 2 tablespoons of filling on the egg brushed side. Avoid the apple sauce, it will make the base too soggy and if it leaks onto the edge where you brushed the egg, it will prevent it from sealing properly.

4. Fold the puff pastry over to cover the filling.

5. Seal the edges using a fork dipped in flour (prevents it from sticking to the puff pastry). By pressing down firmly and crimping the edge, it seals it well.
6. Refrigerate – As you complete each turnover, place them on a cutting board lined with paper. Then refrigerate for 20 minutes – this makes the turnovers puff up better. (PS Don’t chill the turnovers on a baking tray, it will compromise how well the base cooks because the cold tray takes time to heat up).
7. Egg wash and prick – Slide the sheet of paper with the turnovers on them onto a large baking tray. Brush with whisked egg (makes them nice and golden), then prick the surface 3 times with a small knife. Steam escape holes – reduces risk of the filling leaking out of the seams.
8. Bake for 25 minutes at 200°C/400°F (180°C fan-forced), or until the turnovers are golden. And they’re done! So now, eating options: plain, or cream filled!

How to serve plain apple turnovers (the easy option for impatient people 🙋🏻‍♀️)

If you are not making cream filled apple turnovers, they really are best served warm. I personally like to dust with icing sugar / powdered sugar to make them look pretty. And I really like to serve with cream for dunking! Warm apple turnovers with lightly sweetened whipped cream is a match made in heaven.

Making cream filled apple turnovers

To make cream filled apple turnovers, once the turnovers are cool enough to handle, use a small knife to cut the seams. Open it up and set aside until the inside is fully cool – else the cream will melt.

When ready to assemble, whip the stabilised cream (read above for why I recommend that) or make regular whipped cream but beat until stiff so it’s pip-able. Then pipe it inside!

So, there you go! I did not expect to write so much about the humble apple turnover. I actually decided to publish this recipe today thinking it’s a nice easy one.

Then of course, I go and make things more complicated by offering the recipe two different ways. Which sounds simple enough, then I get to the end of the post and am rather alarmed at how much I’ve written.

But – it’s a really simple recipe, I swear! 😂 Hope you give it a go. Let me know what you think if you do – and whether you dunk or fill with cream. – Nagi x

Watch how to make it

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Apple turnovers – with cream filled option!

Recipe video above. There's nothing like a fresh homemade Apple Turnover! The flavour of the filling is so much better than store bought.

While I adore the sentiment of cream filled turnovers, these days I tend to serve warm turnovers with cream for dunking. Easier and faster, plus the turnovers are sooo good warm!

Course Dessert, Sweet Baking

Cuisine Western

Keyword apple turnovers, puff pastry dessert, turnovers

Prep Time 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes minutes

Filling cooling 30 minutes minutes

Servings 8 turnovers 10cm/4″

Calories 336cal

Author Nagi

Ingredients

Apple turnover filling:

• 4 Granny Smith apples , peeled, diced into 1.25cm cubes, 6 cups (Note 1)
• 2 tsp cornflour/cornstarch (thickens sauce)
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• Pinch salt

Apple turnover:

• 2 square puff pastry sheets (25 cm/10"), butter best (Note 3)
• 1 egg , whisked

Cream filled version:

• 2 batches Stabilised whipped cream OR stiff whipped cream (Note 3)

Optional serving extras:

• 1 batch Whipped cream for dunking – for easy option (Note 4)
• Icing sugar / powdered sugar , for dusting (optional)

Cups – Metric

Instructions

• Filling – Put apples in a large saucepan. Toss with cornflour. Add everything else. Cook on medium to medium-high heat, stirring regularly, for 5 minutes. Apple should be softened but not mushy or losing shape, with some but not too much caramel.
• Cool – Spread the filling on a large plate then let it fully cool. (Note 5)
• Line a large cutting board or upside down tray with baking/parchment paper.
• Make turnovers – Working one puff pastry sheet at a time, barely thawed, cut into 4 squares (12.5cm/5"). Brush 2 sides with egg, then pile filling on the egg brushed side. Avoid using sauce, soaks base and if it leaks onto edge it will not seal. (Save leftover sauce & apple for pancakes, french toast, ice cream etc!)
• Wrap – Fold over, seal with fork dipped in flour (prevents sticking to pastry). Transfer to paper lined cutting board.
• Refrigerate for 20 minutes (cold = better puffing).
• Preheat oven to 200°C/400°F (180°C fan).
• Bake 25 min – Slide the paper with the turnovers on it onto a large baking tray. (Note 6 for why) Brush turnovers with egg. Stab 3 times. Bake 25 minutes or until golden.
• Serve warm, dusted with icing sugar and whipped cream for dunking.

Cream filled option

• Transfer turnovers to a cooling rack. Fully cool. Split seam side open with knife. Pipe in cream. EAT!

Notes

1. Apples – Granny Smith apples are my favourite apple option. Good balance of tartness with sweet, and they hold their shape. Most red apple varieties will break down more so you end up with a compote inside (which makes base soggy), and are sweeter. Also, not recommended to make this without pre-cooking apples, see post for more info.

2. Butter puff pastry is tastier than oil based puff pastry. Tip: Use barely thawed. Much easier to handle! When it’s fully thawed, especially on hotter days, they get too sticky and floppy. Nightmare to handle!

Standard size of puff pastry sheets here in Australia is 25cm/10″ squares.

3. Cream filled apple turnovers – Best to use stabilised whipped cream which has more structure than plain whipped cream which is so light and airy, it squirts out everywhere the moment you bite into it. Also you need to eat immediately because plain cream starts weeping within 15 minutes or so. Stabilised whipped cream will hold its shape for 24 – 36 hours. Super easy to make, recipe here!

4. For an easy version of everybody’s favourite cream + apple turnover option, just serve with cream for dunking. You’ll only need one batch (1 cup) of whipping cream (doubles in volume).

5. Don’t use bowl, apple sweats and drops too much liquid.

6. Tip – Don’t bake on the tray you put in the fridge (if that’s what you used). The tray gets too cold and takes too long to heat up so the base of the turnover doesn’t cook through properly. It’s easy to transfer – watch the video!

7. Storage – Non cream filled turnovers will keep for 3 days, recommend baking to freshen up. Cream filled will last 24 – 36 hours in the fridge as long as you use stabilised whipped cream. If you fill with plain whipped cream, best to eat immediately (plain whipped cream will start weeping within half an hour).

Nutrition per turnover, excluding cream.

Nutrition

Calories: 336cal | Carbohydrates: 45g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 17g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 9g | Trans Fat: 0.003g | Cholesterol: 20mg | Sodium: 113mg | Potassium: 132mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 22g | Vitamin A: 80IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 15mg | Iron: 1mg

I have a thing for baking with apples…

See?

Apple Crumble

Easiest Ever MOIST Apple Cake

Magic Stay-Moist Apple Muffins

My Perfect Apple Pie

Cinnamon Apple Bread

Magic Caramel Self Saucing Baked Apples

Cinnamon Apple Teacake

Apple Crumble Bars

Life of Dozer

I shouldn’t do this – do you remember what happened the last time I teased him with dessert I have no intention of sharing with him? See below.

THIS happened:

Yep, Dozer had the last laugh!

The post Apple Turnovers – with cream filled option appeared first on RecipeTin Eats.

Whether you consider this a giant chocolate tart or chocolate custard cake, we will agree it’s one of the most delicious desserts you will ever make. A cross between a chocolate mousse cake and a chocolate Flan Patissier, it’s deeply chocolatey, ultra creamy, yet not overly rich, and shockingly straightforward to make. The perfect finale for any occasion!

Look at all that creamy chocolate custard! How can this not get you excited???!

Chocolate custard cake

I feel like I don’t need to say much about this cake because the photos and recipe video do all the talking for me.

It’s as chocolatey and creamy as it looks. You can cut it into neat slices (like… cake!). But when you eat it, it’s gloriously creamy.

It’s luxurious, with a rich mouthfeel. It is a real custard, after all, nothing like the fake stuff sold in cartons at the store which is a sad imitation of the real deal.

But this is not overly rich and definitely not overly sweet.

Decadent enough for special occasions, easy enough to make for a morning tea at work.

Wait a sec. Did I just convince myself this is the perfect cake for any occasion??? 😂

This chocolate custard cake is an invention that started out as a chocolate version of a Blueberry custard cake I shared a few months ago, a recipe where custard is baked on top of a vanilla sponge layer.

Numerous attempts later, I gave up but out of the fails came this glorious chocolate custard cake that is probably one of my best baking inventions ever. Big call – but I’m standing by it!

Also – proof of creaminess:

What you need

Here’s what you need to make this Chocolate custard cake.

1. Chocolate custard

This cake is made using crème pâtissière, a creamy custard that is used in many French desserts. The recipe I’m using today is based on the custard used in the famous (giant!) French vanilla custard tart, Flan Pâtissier, with chocolate added.

While exact recipes for crème pâtissière vary depending on the intended use (ie. baked vs not baked; required viscosity for pouring vs piping vs filling vs spreading, flavourings added etc), the base ingredients are almost always the same:

• Egg yolks – for richness and also to help set the custard.

  Leftover egg whites – Here’s my list of what I do with them and all my egg white recipes can be found in this recipe collection.

• Cornflour/cornstarch – For setting the custard and making it shiny (regular flour makes it dull). Attention FRENCH READERS: Do not use yellow cornflour, use white cornstarch!

• Sugar – It’s best to use caster sugar / superfine sugar as the grains are finer than regular / granulated sugar so it dissolves more easily.

  Note: This chocolate custard cake is not excessively sweet! One of the things I adore about French desserts is that they are far less sweet than other typical Western desserts. It suits my palette as I grew up eating Japanese baked goods which is heavily influenced by French pastry.

• Milk – The liquid for custard. Some recipes also use cream, for added richness. I don’t feel it’s needed in this recipe. The chocolate makes it rich enough!

• 70% cocoa chocolate – This cake needs to be made using 70% cocoa chocolate to ensure the custard sets to the right consistency and good chocolate flavour. Lower cocoa % (eg milk chocolate, usually around 30% cocoa) = softer chocolate & less chocolate flavour = custard sets softer, is paler and chocolate flavour is not as strong. I found this to be the result when I tried this with regular dark chocolate chips (45% cocoa).

  Better quality = better result! I use Lindt 70% cocoa dark chocolate which is actually an eating chocolate, and a good quality one at that. It’s better quality than the 70% chocolate sold in the baking aisle, so I always stock up whenever I see it on sale!

• Vanilla extract – For background flavour. When making a vanilla crème pâtissière (such as with Flan Pâtissier) or a vanilla pouring custard where vanilla is the forward flavour, I will usually recommend using vanilla beans or vanilla bean paste for better flavour. Plus, let’s just say it, people are always impressed when they see the little black specks. You used real vanilla in this, wow! 😇

  Today, chocolate is our primary flavour so there’s no need to indulge in “real vanilla”. Vanilla extract will do nicely. Not vanilla essence please, that tastes like what it is – artificial vanilla flavour.

2. Oreo cookie base

Oreos are a great shortcut for a cookie base that’s got intense chocolate flavour and colour, with the bonus that the cream filling helps the crust hold together. (UK readers: Your bourbon cream biscuits works a treat here! Milk chocolate digestives works too.)

Other bases I tried for this cake: chocolate pâte sucrée (French tart crust) and various versions chocolate sponge (this didn’t work, testing notes at the bottom of the post) and this Oreo biscuit base. I preferred the biscuit base because it’s a relatively thin layer which provides the necessary structure but doesn’t detract from the star of the show – the chocolate custard. It’s also a nice textural contrast with the bonus that it’s the easiest to make!

How to make chocolate custard cake

This section has step photos and talks through the why for key parts of the recipe. There’s also the recipe video above the recipe card, though if you’re a baking pro you might just want to skip straight down to the recipe!

1. Preparing the cake pan

Cakes, tarts etc made with crushed up biscuits (like cheesecakes) need to be made in pans with a loose base so you can remove the finished cake. You can’t flip it upside down like a sponge cake because the base will crack and the surface will be ruined!

So for today’s recipe, you will need a springform pan with removable sides. Because the base of springform pans have a lip, it’s best to use it upside down so the finished cake slides off it easily. Insurance policy to ensure the base doesn’t crack!

1. Flip base upside down.

2. Grease the base with butter then stick a square-ish sheet of baking paper on it (parchment paper).

3. Clip the sides in place and leave the excess paper sticking out the sides (handy to grip when removing the finished cake).

   Clipping the sides onto the inverted base can be a bit fiddly. I find the easiest way is to pop a folded tea towel under the base so it’s slightly elevated off the work surface, then clip the sides in.

4. Lightly grease the sides with butter then line with baking paper.

* If you are a pastry master and have an entremet ring, you can skip this step. But you already know this! 😇

2. Making the chocolate custard

Please – resist the urge to eat all the custard out of the pot. Save a little for the cake!

1. Heat milk with vanilla and about half the sugar until just before boiling. You can just eyeball the amount of sugar that goes in.

2. Whisk the egg yolks, remaining sugar and cornflour/cornstarch in a separate large bowl.

3. Whisk in milk – Slowly pour the hot milk in while whisking constantly, which will ensure the hot milk doesn’t cook the eggs. Pour all the milk in and whisk until combined.

   This step by which hot liquid is poured in a controlled manner into cold eggs without causing them to cook is called tempering eggs.

   Precaution step: If the saucepan is a little heavy for you, just use a jug or ladle to assist. Once you get about 1 cup of of the milk whisked in, you don’t need to worry about scrambling the eggs!
   

4. Transfer the egg-milk mixture back into the saucepan. Now we’re going to cook it for a few minutes until it thickens into a custard.

5. Thicken custard – Pour the egg-milk mixture back into the same saucepan. Place over medium low heat, whisking constantly so the base doesn’t catch, until it starts to thicken (you will feel it). It should happen within 3 to 5 minutes. If it gets lumpy, remove off heat, whisk vigorously – will become smooth.

6. Lazy bubbles – The sight of lazy bubbles is the trigger that determines the right cook time for custard. They will start to appear once the custard is thickened, and it’s hot and steamy. You’ll need to pause stirring for a few seconds to see if they appear.

7. Stir 45 sec – Once you see the bubbles, whisk constantly on the stove for a further 45 seconds then remove from stove. The rule for making French custard is 30 seconds for every 500ml/2 cups of milk. That is, for every 2 cups of milk used in the custard, stir for 30 seconds after the bubbles start appearing. Because we are using 3 cups of milk, we stir for 45 seconds.

8. Add chocolate – Remove from the stove, add chocolate and stir until fully melted. See below for what it looks like!

9. Thickness – The custard should be thick enough such that it mounds slightly on the surface, like pictured above.

10. Set aside – Transfer into a bowl, immediately cover with cling wrap touching the surface to prevent a skin from forming. If you can see lumps in your custard, feel free to strain through a fine mesh.

    Then set the custard aside while preparing the base. There’s no need to rest chocolate custard overnight, like we do with the vanilla custard for Flan Pâtissier. Reason: Vanilla custard is more delicate and benefits from overnight flavour development. Chocolate custard doesn’t need it.

    Make-ahead option – If you want to get ahead, the custard can be refrigerated overnight then used the next day.

3. Oreo cookie base

Blitz and press. Nice and easy! No food processor? No worries! Just bash the cookies in a ziplock bag using a rolling pin or something heavy.

1. Cookies – Break up the cookies with your hands and place in a food processor.

2. Blitz until they become fine crumbs. Add melted butter, then blitz again until combined.

3. Transfer crumbs into prepared pan.

4. Press evenly and firmly on to the base. I spread the crumbs with a spatula then use the underside of a straight-sided, flat-bottomed measuring cup to press them flat. But honestly, even your hands will do the job!

4. Baking

Home stretch!

1. Whisk custard until smooth. It firms up as it cools but should still be warm by the time you get to using it. Though you can, as noted above, leave the custard overnight and finish the cake tomorrow.

2. Pour the custard into the prepared cake pan.

3. Spread the custard and smooth the surface. No need to be too meticulous here as the custard will thin as it heats up and spread out evenly.

4. Bake for 1 hour at 180°C/350°F (160°C fan-forced), rotating the cake at the 45 minute mark. The cake will puff up towards the end and a thin (chocolatey!) skin will form on the surface. This is a signature characteristic of Flan Pâtissier (French Custard Tart) on which this recipe is based!

   The cake should still be wobbly when you pull it out of the oven. It firms up in the fridge (next step).

5. Cool overnight – Remove the cake from the oven and leave to cool on the counter for at least 3 hours. Don’t be alarmed if it deflates – that is what is supposed to happen!

   Then refrigerate for at least 12 hours, or even longer.

   If there is any hint of warmth in the cake when you put it in the fridge, do not cover the cake with cling wrap as it will make it sweat. Because of the type of cake this is, there is no risk of it drying out so just leave it uncovered.

6. Remove the sides of the springform pan then slide the cake off the base (and feel smug at how easy it is because you learnt the inverted cake base trick!). Now, it’s ready for serving…… I mean, YAY, it’s time to EAT!!!

More matters of chocolate custard cake

Decorating

Raspberries or sliced strawberries look lovely on chocolate desserts, as does a dusting of icing sugar (powdered sugar), as pictured in post. A dollop of Chantilly cream (lightly sweetened vanilla cream) or mascarpone wouldn’t go astray either, or a scoop of vanilla ice cream!

Serving

I like to cut the cake while fridge cold, for neat smear-free slices, then leave it out for around 30 minutes to bring to room temperature before serving for the creamiest mouthfeel. Having said that though, on hot summer days, cold custard cake is DIVINE!

Storage

I had to label a slice with an aggressive “DO NOT TOUCH!!!” sign to protect it from vultures to check the shelf life! It was perfect for 48 hours after removing from the cake pan, then still good on day 5 though the biscuit base was noticeably softer.

I forgot to try but I doubt it will freeze. Custards typically don’t freeze well.

And there you have it! A chocolate custard cake. I suppose some would argue that it’s a chocolate tart, and being that it is actually a chocolate version of the French custard tart, Flan Pâtissier.

But with a layer of custard that thick, to me it looks more like a chocolate mousse cake than a tart.

The name might be open to debate, but the delicious is not! I hope you give it a go one day! – Nagi x

Watch how to make it

Print

Chocolate Custard Cake

Recipe video above. Whether you consider this a giant chocolate tart or chocolate custard cake, we will agree it's one of the most delicious desserts you will ever make. A cross between a chocolate mousse cake and a chocolate Flan Patissier (French custard tart), it's deeply chocolatey, ultra creamy, yet not overly rich, and shockingly straightforward to make. The perfect finale for any occasion!

Course Dessert

Cuisine Western

Keyword Chocolate custard cake, chocolate custard tart, chocolate flan patissier, chocolate mousse cake

Prep Time 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time 1 hour hour

Cooling 15 hours hours

Servings 10 – 12 people

Author Nagi

Ingredients

BASE:

• 200g/ 7oz Oreo cookies (1.5 standard packs, Note 1)
• 60g/ 4 tbsp unsalted butter , melted

CUSTARD:

• 3 cups milk , full fat
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 2/3 cups caster sugar (superfine sugar, sub regular)
• 120g/ 4.2 oz egg yolks (~6 – 7 large eggs, Note 2)
• 5 tbsp (50g) cornflour / cornstarch
• 200g / 7 oz 70% cocoa chocolate , finely chopped (I use Lindt, Note 3)

FOR SERVING (optional):

• Chantilly cream
• Raspberry or strawberries
• Icing sugar / powdered sugar , for dusting

Cups – Metric

Instructions

PREPARATION:

• Prepare pan: Flip the base of a 20cm / 8" springform pan upside down – this makes it easier to remove the finished cake without the lip in the way. Grease pan base with butter, then press on a square sheet of baking paper. Clip the pan sides onto the base, letting the excess paper stick out (ease of removal later).
• Preheat oven to 180°C / 350°F (160°C fan-forced).

CUSTARD:

• Heat the milk, vanilla and about half the sugar in a large saucepan over medium high heat until just before boiling, stirring to dissolve the sugar.
• Yolk mixture: Place egg yolks and remaining sugar in a large bowl and whisk to combine. Add cornflour and whisk until smooth.
• Temper eggs: While whisking the eggs, slowly pour in the hot milk in a thin stream while whisking. Whisk until fully combined.
• Thicken custard: Pour the egg-milk mixture back into the same saucepan. Place over medium low heat, stirring constantly so the base doesn't catch, until it starts to thicken (you will feel it). It should happen within 3 to 5 minutes. If it gets lumpy, remove off heat, whisk vigorously – will become smooth.
• Stir 45 sec after bubbles: When the custard is thickened and steamy, and you see the first big lazy bubbles appear on the base (pause whisking to see), whisk constantly on the stove for a further 45 seconds then remove from stove.
• Add chocolate and stir until fully melted.
• Cool: Transfer into a bowl, immediately cover with cling wrap touching the surface. (You can strain if you're concerned about lumps). Set aside while preparing the base.

BISCUIT BASE:

• Blitz cookies: Roughly break up Oreos with hands and place in food processor. Blitz until they become fine crumbs. Add melted butter, then blitz again until combined.
• Press: Transfer crumbs into prepared pan, pressing evenly and firmly on to the base (I use the underside of a straight-sided, flat-bottomed cup measure to do this).

BAKE:

• Bake 1 hour: Whisk custard until smooth to loosen. Pour onto the base, smooth surface. Bake 60 minutes, rotating the cake pan at the 45 minute mark. It will still be wobbly when you pull it out of the oven.
• Cool for 3 hours on the counter, in the pan. Refrigerate at least 12 hours to allow the custard to fully set.
• Serve: Best to cut when fridge cold and serve at room temp (for creamiest custard!). Remove springform sides and paper, then use paper overhang to slide the cake off the base. Cut like cake and serve! Lovely with dollop of Chantilly cream and a raspberry or strawberry. Dust with icing sugar to make it pretty!

Notes

1. Oreo cookies – You can also use plain chocolate biscuits instead (ie without a filling), such as Arnott’s Chocolate Ripple, but add 1 1/2 tbsp / 20g of butter. This is because Oreo cookies have a filling which is partly what helps bond the crust.

UK readers: Your bourbon cream biscuits works a treat here! Milk chocolate digestives works too.

2. Yolks – safest to weigh because egg and yolk sizes differ and this custard relies on egg to help it set. 120g / 4.2 oz yolks is 100ml / 3.4 oz, just shy of 1/2 cup. Usually 6 large eggs weighing ~55g / 2oz each (carton labelled “large eggs” because it’s an industry standard).

Leftover egg whites – Here’s my list of what I do with them and all my egg white recipes can be found in this recipe collection.

3. Chocolate – Must use 70% cocoa chocolate to ensure the custard sets to the right consistency and good chocolate flavour. Lower cocoa % (eg milk chocolate usually around 30%) = softer chocolate & less chocolate flavour = custard sets softer, is paler and chocolate flavour is not as strong.

Storage – At its best for the first 48 hours. Keeps for 5 days though the biscuit base does start to soften (it’s really not a big deal). Store in fridge.

Fellow custard-lovers. Unite!

Custard Cake With Blueberries

Flan Pâtissier (French Custard Tart)

Custard (Creme Anglaise)

Crème Brûlée (French vanilla custard)

Christmas Trifle!

Chocolate Cream Pie

Life of Dozer

No chocolate for you Dozer! How about some croissant instead? (Like I have a choice! 😂)

The post Chocolate custard cake appeared first on RecipeTin Eats.

The one trick with this apple pie recipe that makes all the difference? Baking the apple slices first. It’s the magic key to a crispy base, superior flavour and perfectly-cooked-and-never-mushy filling. It’s also how you get a generous amount of pie filling without the dreaded giant empty cavity under the lid.

Serve this all-time favourite warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream for the perfect homemade dessert!

My perfect Apple Pie

Of all the sweet pies out there, Apple Pie might just be the most iconic of them all. In America, it’s practically its own religion and talk about what exactly makes the perfect Apple Pie can get as prickly as politics.

Well, let me weigh in and tell you about my idea of the perfect Apple Pie.

My perfect pie is packed with a generous amount of apple filling that’s never mushy and never undercooked. There’s some spicing but it’s even-handed and doesn’t overwhelm. The filling is also not overly sweet and won’t leave you grasping for a glass of water.

Then the pastry. All this cosy apple goodness is encased in a shell of irresistibly flaky, buttery shortcrust. It’s not chewy nor is it sad and soggy. And let’s not forget the base! Of course it’s got to be perfectly crispy – no exceptions.

That’s my vision of perfect Apple Pie. If that all sounds good to you, then dare I say this might become your perfect apple pie recipe too. I hope you enjoy this recipe for many years to come!

Recipe credits – Many thanks to my French pastry chef teacher Jennifer Pogmore and RecipeTin’s Chef JB for their assistance and expertise to bring my vision of the perfect Apple Pie to life. We did it!!!

Where so many Apple Pie recipes go wrong

I don’t normally write so bluntly. But this is a very long post so I don’t have time for measured politeness!

My recipe for perfect Apple Pie is really borne of all the things I have disliked about other Apple Pie recipes I have tried over the years, which I wanted to address. Here’s my biggest gripes:

1. Soggy base or crust not properly cooked – This one’s a common problem with recipes where the crust is not blind baked before filling with apples, or raw apples are baked inside the crust. Apple juices have to go somewhere, you know?? That somewhere is into your pastry. (And nope, thickening with cornflour/cornstarch won’t save the pie.)

2. Mushy apples. Or it’s opposite, crunchy undercooked apples – I don’t know which is worse. Both are just a big fat no!

3. Overly sweet fillings and spice overkill – I want to taste the apples!

4. Not much apple flavour – Some recipes even boil apples … ick. Just no.

5. Skimpy amount of filling – Any recipe calling for less than 1.5kg / 3lb of apples will end up pretty scant on the filling. Pies are supposed to be all about generosity!

6. A giant empty cavity under the lid – A recipe calling for raw apples to be piled high in the crust results in a bulging pastry cage for a lid. The lid smashes in when you cut it, creating a frightful (though admittedly still-delicious) mess!

Reading back over my list, you must think I’m a bit of a whiny, difficult-to-please person. 😂 It’s not that at all! People in my life know very well I am far from a hoity-toity type.

For me, the thing about Apple Pie is that it’s not a quick recipe especially when you take the time to make the crust from scratch. So the end result needs to be worth the effort, ie. flawless!

The other thing – and this is the clincher – is that pretty much all of the issues I listed above boil down to how the filling is dealt with. A filling made with raw apples for instance is a very common approach but leads to all sorts of problems like those I mentioned.

If we can just fix the filling, we’re laughing.

The solution: Bake the apples

The solution to my gripes turned out to be simple: Bake the apples. It’s as easy as that.

Here’s why it works:

• The apples cook evenly

• The apple juices can be reduced to a syrup so it’s not runny and doesn’t soak the base

• The apples are cooked down first so you don’t end up with a giant empty pie-lid cavity

• It’s far easier than stovetop-cooking your apples. Stirring a tonne of apple slices is not fun, plus they don’t really cook evenly.

• And … better flavour!

Here’s the proof!

And here’s photo evidence of the difference baking the apples makes:

Exhibit A: Crispy base

Here are a couple of photos to show you the crispy base.

Exhibit B: No giant empty cavity under the lid

And this is what the pie looks like straight out of the oven – Flat lattice, and the inside filled to the brim with apples.

OK! Ready to see how to make my Apple Pie?? Let’s do this!

What you need to make Apple Pie filling

Here’s what you need to make the Apple Pie filling. (PS. The egg is out of place, it’s for brushing the pastry!).

• Granny Smith apples – There’s plenty of opinions out there about the best apples for Apple Pie. But for me, Granny Smith is The One, for its tartness and ability to hold its shaped once cooked. This is key to avoiding a mushy filling!

• Brown sugar – My choice of sugar for caramelly sweetness. I use 1 cup of brown sugar which, to me, provides the perfect level of sweet-but-not-too-sweet.

• Apple Pie spices – Cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg. Mix up your own for better flavour control instead of using a pre-made mix!

• Butter – Just a dab, for simmering with the apple juices on the tray to make a syrup for the Apple Pie filling.

• Salt – Just a touch, to bring out the other flavours. It doesn’t make it salty at all.

• Egg – Used to brush the pie lid to make it a beautiful and shiny golden brown!

Apple Pie crust

The classic crust used for apple pie is shortcrust and that’s what I use. My recipe is very standard (flour, butter, salt, sugar, water). However the one thing I should probably address is the debate over butter vs vegetable shortening.

Advocates of vegetable shortening (which is a type of fat made from vegetable oil) love how it makes shortcrust pastry ultra-crumbly and flaky.

I have no issues with vegetable shortening per se, except that it is tasteless. So while shortcrust pastry made with butter may not be quite as flaky, it is still flaky enough to me and more importantly, is a whole lot tastier to eat.

And if your mind is going straight to “why not use a combination”?, you must think like me because I tried that too. But I just found it still lacked flavour even using a 50/50 mix.

So, all-butter shortcrust it is! Recipe here.

PS. Also – I use a food processor. Because I have hot little hands which melt the little bits of butter as I work with the dough. Food processor = exactly the same results as handmade + superior flakiness + SPEEDIER.

How to make Apple Pie

Heads up – there’s a lot of information here because I explain there why and also provide tutorial information so even first-timers can have the confidence to nail the Great Apple Pie!

If you’re a pro, just skip on ahead to the recipe or the how-to video, or to Dozer. 😂 For everyone else, come along for the ride.

1. Prepare the pie crust

1. Shortcrust dough – Make a double batch of my (easy!) shortcrust pastry dough. Form two separate discs, wrap and chill for 1 hour in the fridge.

2. Roll out – Unwrap one ball of dough and roll out on a lightly floured work surface into a round that is about 5 mm / 1/5″ thick (not too thin, it needs to be sturdy enough for lots of juicy filling!)

3. Line pie tin – I use a 23 cm / 9″ metal pie tin (not a deep dish). Metal is best. You just can’t get a proper crispy base with a glass or ceramic pie tin – we’ve tried. This is the tin I own, and here is a better value one but I haven’t tried it. (Note: There are not affiliate links.)

   To line the pie tin, roll the pastry off the work surface on to the rolling pin, then unroll it over the pie tin. This is not just the simplest technique to transfer the pastry (no tearing!) but you will also avoid stretching the pastry which then causes the crust to shrink when it bakes.

   Drape the pastry into the pie tin, taking care not to stretch it (as noted above).

4. Prick pastry and freeze – Use a fork to gently prick the base around 30 times (don’t go all the way through). This helps prevent the base from bubbling up when baking which can cause pie juice leakages.

   Wrap the pie tin in cling wrap and freeze for 2 hours. You can actually even leave it there frozen for up to 1 month (probably longer, I just haven’t tried).

   Freezing pastry is a terrific technique I learned from my French pastry chef teacher Jennifer Pogmore (she’s based in France and we work remotely together!) Baking a pastry from frozen results in basically zero pastry shrinkage – and excellent pro tip!

   It’s extra-important to avoid pie crusts shrinking with a fully-loaded apple pie because it can lead to a broken crust when the filled pie is baked! Why? Well, imagine all the weight of all that filling pressing against a crust that has shrunk away and is no longer reinforced by the pie tin walls. It can crack like a burst dam. Apple juices seep under the crust which then glues the crust to the pie tin … disaster! (Clearly you can tell I speak from experience 😂).

2. Blind bake the crust

Blind baking (par baking) is key to ensure the crust is not just crispy, but also fully cooked. We tried numerous variations without blind baking the crust. The results were mixed. For some, the base was soggy, and for other attempts, either the base and or/sides were not fully cooked.

Conclusion: blind baking is essential! Here’s how to do it.

1. Cover with paper – Cover the frozen pie crust with two overlapping large sheets of baking/parchment paper arranged in a “X”. Excess paper hanging over the edges is necessary to protect the pie rim from browning too fast as well as having plenty to grip so you can remove the hot baking beads safely (see below).

2. Baking beads – Fill with baking beads until level to the rim. These beads weigh down the base as well as press the pastry against the sides of the pie tin so it prevents the pastry from shrinking. (Read section above for why pastry shrinkage is undesirable for Apple Pie!)

   No baking beads? Use uncooked rice or dried beans. Keep for re-use indefinitely.

3. Bake for 25 minutes at 200°C / 400°F (180°C fan).

4. Remove the baking beads using the paper overhang to lift out the paper and transfer them to a heatproof bowl.

5. Egg wash – Brush the base and sides (but not rim) lightly with whisked egg. This is a crispy base insurance step. When the egg cooks, it forms a thin water-resistant “barrier” to help prevent the pastry from absorbing the juices.

6. Bake uncovered for a further 5 minutes then remove from oven. The pie crust should be light golden and look fully cooked.

   Leave to cool for 15 minutes before filling with the Apple Pie Filling. This is another crispy base insurance step, ie. hot pastry absorbs liquid more.

3. Baking apple slices

Baking the apple slices is the key step for the Perfect Apple Pie. Read the reasons why in the section above!

1. Slice apples – Core the apples using your chosen method. If you’re an apple-cooking fiend like myself, you’ll have an apple corer. If not, you can just core the apples using whatever method best works for you.

   Peel then halve the apples. Now place them flat side-down and cut into 1cm / 0.4″ thick slices. Try to cut them as evenly as possible so they cook evenly.

2. Toss with spices and sugar – Put the apple slices in a large bowl. Mix the sugar and spices in a separate small bowl (I know you just want to dump them straight in but then the spices don’t disperse evenly). Now sprinkle the mixture over the apple slices and use your hands to toss well, separating the apple slices as needed so they are evenly coated.

3. Bake – Spread across 2 trays and bake at 180°C/350°F (160°C fan) until the apples are tender but not mushy. The bake time will vary from 15 minutes to 40 minutes. An interesting discovery when we were testing this recipe as Granny Smith apples here in Australia take 40 minutes whereas in France, they take just 15 minutes. Perhaps this is due to local apple variations? Amazing!

   A simple lesson learned: Check your apple doneness early. Easy!

   What the done apples should be like: The apple slices should be tender and offer no resistance when you pierce them with a knife. However, you don’t want them mushy. They will be a bit delicate when hot out of the oven but will firm up as they cool. They won’t cook much more once inside the pie, that step is more about melding everything together to become a juicy pie filling.

4. Apple juices – Drain the apple juices on the trays into a saucepan. No need to be fussy here, just tilt the tray and use a spatula to hold back the apple slices while you drain off as much as you can. If there’s some left on the tray that’s ok – we will just add it later.

   You should have around 1/2 cup of juices. Some days though I have less, other days I have more. It doesn’t matter because we are reducing it in the next step to a specific amount.

5. Make syrup – Add the butter to the apple juices and simmer on low heat until it reduces to 1/3 cup (80 ml) and becomes a syrupy consistency. It might take 1 minute if you only had around 1/3 cup, or 5 minutes if you started with 1/2 cup or more.

   Reducing the apple juices to a syrup serves 2 purposes. Firstly, we are not wasting free flavour – never, we are getting apple flavour to the max! It made me want to cry every time I read an Apple Pie recipe that directed people to discard apple juices.

   Secondly, by reducing the apple juices to a thicker syrup, it will cling to the apple pieces better and will not soak into the base as much. Which means – yup, you guessed it – crispy base!

   Once the syrup is ready, set aside to cool.

6. Cool apples – Meanwhile, also set the cooked apple slices aside to cool. This will make them less delicate to handle and also ensures they don’t overcook into mush when baked inside the pie in the 45 minute cook time required for the pastry lid to cook.

4. Fill the pie

OK! We’re on the home stretch here to the best part: cooking but more importantly, EATING IT!!!

1. Fill the pie crust with 2/3 of the cooled apple slices. I find using a spatula or egg flip to scoop them up is the best way to handle them. Place them in the pie crust and press down lightly to remove air pockets.

   With the remaining apple, firstly arrange some in a heap in the centre to create a slight mound. Then keep layering the rest of the apple slices over the top of the filling. You can see in my photo I’ve placed them slightly overlapping in a neat arrangement. You don’t need to do that!

2. Pour over the apple syrup and any residual juices left on the tray.

5. Lattice tutorial!

OK! I know we all want our Apple Pies to sport the neat, criss-cross woven pastry lid like we see in every classic Apple Pie photo ever. So here’s a little pie lattice tutorial. I promise it’s not hard!

1. Roll out the pie lid dough on a lightly floured work surface to 3 mm / 1/8″ thick. You don’t want it too thick or it will not cook through by the time the lid surface is a beautiful golden colour.

2. Cut 12 x 2.5cm / 1″ strips. I use a ruler and a small sharp knife that I run along the ruler to cut the strips.

   I try to do this step while the apples are baking, returning the strips to the fridge (covered in cling wrap) until required.

3. Forming the lattice – Place 6 pastry strips in the same direction on top of the filling, evenly spaced apart.

   Fold back every 2nd strip to halfway. Place a strip of pastry perpendicular to the laid strips, right up the strips are folded. Now unfold the strips to return them to how they were. Next, fold up the alternative strips you didn’t fold first time around, and place another strip across the pie in the same way. Repeat with one more strip. Rotate the pie and repeat with the remaining 3 strips to do the other half of the pie. Obviously, this is a good time to watch the video to see how it’s done!

   Trim excess strip pastry using scissors or a small sharp knife.

   Seal by using water and pressing the strips against the crust to adhere. I find it easiest just to use my finger.

6. Bake it!

1. Egg wash – Brush the lattice with egg wash, taking care to avoid the cooked pie rim (else it will get overly brown). Also ensure you don’t end up with pools of egg in the lattice joins, which will be unsightly.

2. Sugar sprinkle – Then sprinkle with sugar. We use regular sugar and not caster/superfine so we’ll have lovely sparkly sugar crystals bejewelling our lid.

3. Bake for 45 minutes until the pastry is golden and you see the apple juices bubbling inside.

4. Cool – Fully cool for at least 3 hours before cutting to serve. If you want to serve after this, you’ll need to cut and serve it out of the pie tin because the pie will not be stable enough to turn out whole. The slices will also be a little rustic. Such is the nature of freshly made pies!

   Neat slices – If you would prefer to serve neater slices as pictured, just refrigerate the pie overnight. It will firm up and become sturdy enough to turn out onto a plate and cut neat slices. Leaving overnight also gives the pie filling flavours a chance to meld together even more.

   To then reheat, cover with foil and reheat in the oven (10 minutes at 180°C/350°F) or use the microwave for a speedy option (1 minute). And yes, the base stays crisp!

Here’s a close up of the cut apple pie after it’s rested overnight and has been reheated in the oven. It’s still nice and juicy, and cuts neatly.

Serving without vanilla ice cream is not even an option. It goes without saying – right??!! Maybe with cream too – or would that take it over the top?

And there you have it. My perfect Apple Pie! A strange time to share it perhaps, heading into Australian summer. But she cannot always choose when she will finally be happy with a recipe. Still, she is chuffed that she managed to squeeze this in just before Thanksgiving – enjoy, my American friends! – Nagi x

PS. I don’t know why I’m writing about myself in the 3rd person. Note to self: come back and fix this!

Watch how to make it

Recipe

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My Perfect Apple Pie

Recipe video above. Basic Apple Pie recipes just call for piling raw apples in an uncooked pie crust. It will work … but the crust will have raw patches, be soggy, the apples unevenly cooked and you'll have a giant empty cavity under the pie lid. Hmm.

If, like me, that's not good enough for you, make my Perfect Apple Pie! The trick: bake the apples for the filling first and blind bake your crust. Result? Superior flavour, perfectly cooked apple filling, a crispy base and no unsightly gaping cave under your pie lid!

NOTE: Saddened to see mixed reviews where the wrong apple types has been used. This recipe is made for Granny Smith Apples! Other apples are not juicy enough or too soft. Please follow the recipe!

Course Dessert, Pie

Cuisine Western

Keyword apple pie

Prep Time 1 hour hour

Cook Time 2 hours hours

Cooling – minimum 3 hours hours

Servings 10 -12

Calories 474cal

Author Nagi

Ingredients

• 2 x homemade shortcrust pastry this recipe, or store bought (Note 1)
• 1 egg , lightly whisked
• 2 tsp white sugar (granulate/regular, not caster/superfine), optional (Note 2)

Apple pie filling:

• 2kg/ 4 lb Granny Smith apples , cored, peeled, halved, cut into 1 cm / 1/3″ thick slices. (Note 3)
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
• 3/4 tsp cooking/kosher salt
• 1 tsp unsalted butter

Serving

• Vanilla ice cream, cream

Cups – Metric

Instructions

Pie crust:

• Shortcrust: Make a double batch of my shortcrust pastry recipe. Form the dough discs, wrap and refrigerate per the recipe.
• Line tin: Roll out one dough just large enough to fit a 23cm/9" metal pie tin, following directions in the shortcrust recipe. You want the base relatively thick so it's sturdy. Trim off excess pastry, prick the base 30 times with a fork (don't pierce through).
• Freeze (Note 4): Cover with cling wrap and freeze for 2 hours.
• While crust is freezing, make apple filling. Then continue with pie crust steps.
• Preheat oven to 200°C / 400°F (180°C fan).
• Blind bake (Note 5): Place two large sheets of baking/parchment paper in a "X" over the pie tin then fill with baking beads (Note 4). Bake 25 minutes.
• Egg wash (Note 5): Remove from oven. Use paper excess to remove beads into a bowl. Brush base and sides (not rim) lightly with whisked egg. Return crust to oven for 5 minutes.
• Cool: Crust should be light golden and look fully cooked. Cool 15 minutes before filling.

Lattice (Note 6 for full lid):

• Remove remaining dough from fridge 30 minutes prior. Roll out to 3 mm / 1/8" thick and cut into 12 x 2.5cm/1" strips. Transfer to board, cover with cling wrap and refrigerate until required.

Apple Pie Filling:

• Preheat oven to 180°C / 350°F (160°C fan).
• Spice mix: Mix the sugar, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and salt in a bowl.
• Toss: In a large bowl, sprinkle spice mix over apple slices. Toss well with hands, separating pieces that are stuck together.
• Bake: Spread across 2 large trays. Bake until soft but still holding form – check first at 15 min, and every 5 mins thereafter (mine take 40 min – Note 7). Do not stir or rotate trays.
• Drain off juices: Remove trays from oven. Using a spatula to hold the apples back, pour apple juices into a saucepan (drain off what you can, you don't need every drop).
• Cool apple: Leave apple slices to cool on the tray, about 15 minutes.
• Apple syrup: Add butter to apple juice saucepan and simmer on low heat until it reduces to 1/3 cup (80 ml), becoming syrupy. This might take 1 minute if you didn't start with much juices, or 3 – 5 minutes if you started with 1/2 cup or more juices. Remove from stove and let cool.

Assemble and bake:

• Turn oven up to 200°C/400°F (180°C fan).
• Fill: Use a spatula or egg flip to scoop up apple slices. Fill the pie crust with 2/3 of the apples, gently pressing out air pockets. Then arrange the remaining apples on top so they mound slightly at the centre. Pour apple syrup over the slices and any residual juices from the baking trays.
• Pastry lattice or lid: Top with pastry lattice – see in post for my method. Trim excess, and press to adhere on to pie crust rim using water to seal. Brush lattice with egg wash (avoid the pie rim else it will over-brown there), ensuring you don't get pools of egg in the joins. Sprinkle with sugar.
• Bake 45 minutes or until the pastry is golden and you see the syrup bubbling through the lattice.
• Serving fresh: Cool at least 3 hours before cutting to serve!
• Option for neat slices: After cooling, refrigerate overnight. Turn pie out of pie dish (it's sturdy enough once cooled). Then you can cut neat slices. Place on a tray, cover with foil and reheat for 10 minutes in a 180°C/350°F oven (or microwave in emergency!).
• In either case serve with vanilla ice cream, always!

Notes

MY WORKFLOW: While pastry lined pie tin is in the freezer, bake apples. Meanwhile, roll out lattice. While baked apples are cooling, blind bake pie crust and reduce apple syrup. Then assemble pie and bake!

1. Crust – If using store-bought pie crust, follow packet directions.

2. Granny Smith is my choice for apple pie for its tart flavour which plays so well with the sugar and spices. Also because it holds its form well when cooked (rather than turning into baby food).

PLEASE do not make this pie with other types of apples, I cannot guarantee outcome as some varieties are not juicy enough (= dry filling) or are too soft!

3. Sugar for a sparkling crust. Optional.

4. Freezing prevents pastry shrinkage. It really works and is worth doing. A neat trick taught to me by my French pastry chef teacher Jennifer Pogmore. Freeze overnight or up to 1 month! This step is key for apple pie because crust shrinkage = high risk of breakage once filled (because crust is no longer pressed again pie tin wall for support).

Baking beads also helps prevent pastry shrinkage. Don’t have any? Use uncooked rice grains or dried beans. Save for re-use another time!

5. Par baking the crust is key for ensuring the pie crust is fully cooked and crisp. If you start with raw dough, you will end up with some raw patches whether on the base or sides, or both, and/or soggy base.

Egg wash on blind baked crust also helps keep the base crispy as it forms a bit of a water-resistant barrier.

6. Full pie lid option (instead of lattice) – Roll out pastry and don’t cut strips. Seal to rim using water, cut 2.5cm/1″ cross in centre to allow steam to escape. Brush with egg and sprinkle with sugar. Bake per recipe.

7. Apple baking time – Start checking your apples at the 15 minute mark as we discovered during testing that the same variety of apples differ drastically in cook times. In France (where Jennifer resides), it only takes 15 minutes. Mine take 40 minutes. So just start checking early! Note: Apple does not soften much more once inside the pie crust so get the texture right during this step.

8. Recipe credits – Many thanks to my French pastry chef teacher Jennifer Pogmore and RecipeTin’s Chef JB for their assistance and expertise to bring my vision of the perfect Apple Pie to life. We did it!!!

9. Leftover apple pie will keep for up to 4 days in the fridge though it is at its prime in the first 24 hours after baking. Freezing – I haven’t tried. When I get a chanace I will try then update this note!

10. Nutrition – Pie only without ice cream or cream.

Nutrition

Calories: 474cal | Carbohydrates: 79g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 17g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 8g | Trans Fat: 0.02g | Cholesterol: 17mg | Sodium: 432mg | Potassium: 310mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 43g | Vitamin A: 146IU | Vitamin C: 9mg | Calcium: 46mg | Iron: 2mg

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Life of Dozer

That time he came to a book signing and he dribbled on one of the books……. 🙀🙀🙀

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