Deconstructed Apple Pie

Daniel
Dec 13, 2021
3 min read

Updated: 2 days ago

During my covid19 isolation period, friends were sending fresh fruits and vegetables to me. Bless them for their kindness! I have lots of apples and before they go bad, I decided to make some apple pie. And not some typical apple pie. A deconstructed one to be exact.

You can use a mixture of apples; Honeycrisp, Gala, Granny Smith, Fuji, McIntosh, etc. I am just using whatever I have on hand. For the apple fillings, I grated apples, diced peeled and unpeeled apples for different layers of texture contrast. I also added a thin layer of apple crisp on the side. So, you will get chewy, crispy, crunchy and silky smooth apples.

As for the crémeux, it is just an extra chefy touch. You can totally omit this and bake the apples covered with puff pastry on a shallow bowl, and it would be an excellent apple pie. I cheated my way thru' with store-bought frozen puff pastry. It makes things a lot easier than making a pie shell from scratch. Right?

Ingredients:

(Serve 3)

Apple Crisp:
Apple Thinly Sliced, 1
Crémeux:
Gelatin Sheet, 1
Heavy Whipping Cream, 225g
Pure Vanilla Paste, 1/2 TSP
Egg Yolks, 58g
High Quality 35% White Chocolate Preferably Valrhona or Callebaut, 75g
Apple Fillings:
Apples Peeled Cored, 375g (Weigh After Peeled & Cored)
Fresh Lemon Juice and Zest, 20g
Sea Salt, Pinch
Apples Cored, 250g (Weigh After Peeled & Cored)
Calvados or Any Apple Liqueur, 2 TBSP
Muscovado Sugar, 50g
Cornstarch, 6g
Cinnamon Powder Preferably Hexa's, 1/2 TSP
Ginger Powder, 1/2 TSP
Puff Pastry:
Frozen Store-Bought Puff Pastry, 1 Sheet
Icing Sugar, For Dusting
Edible Gold Dust, For Dusting (Optional)

Equipment:

Oven
Sauce Pot
Skillet
Sphere Mold
Cookie Cutter (I'm using snowflake)

Directions:

Make the Apple Crisp
Preheat oven to 100°C (210°F).
Lay thinly sliced apples on a parchment-lined baking tray. Discard seeds.
Cover with another sheet of parchment and add light weight to prevent shrinking.
Bake for 1½–2 hours, checking at the 1-hour mark.
Apple slices should be caramelized and crisp when cooled.
Remove and set aside.
Prepare the Crémeux
Bloom gelatin in cold water.
In a saucepan, heat cream and vanilla over medium heat.
Once bubbles form at the edges, remove from heat.
Temper the yolks: whisk in ⅓ of the cream mixture, then another ⅓.
Return yolk mixture to pot and cook until slightly thickened (do not overheat).
Pour into white chocolate. Add bloomed gelatin. Whisk until smooth.
Transfer to silicone sphere molds and freeze 2–3 hours until set.
Make the Apple Filling
Grate 375g peeled apples into a bowl of lemon juice and zest.
Sauté grated apples in a skillet over medium heat with a pinch of salt until dry.
Dice 250g of peeled and unpeeled apples (soaked in lemon water to prevent oxidation).
Add diced apples to the skillet and sauté to combine.
Deglaze with Calvados (careful—it may flambé).
Cook until fork-tender and remove from heat.
Mix sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, and ginger in a small bowl.
Stir into the apple mixture off heat to prevent clumping.
Add ¼ cup water and return to heat. Cook until syrupy. Set aside.
Bake the Puff Pastry
Preheat oven as per pastry packaging.
Cut into shapes using cookie cutters (e.g., snowflakes).
Transfer to a parchment-lined tray and bake until golden and puffed.
Remove and dust with icing sugar.
Assemble the Dessert
Unmold frozen crémeux onto individual serving plates.
Spoon warm apple filling around the crémeux.
Dust crémeux with edible gold dust.
Add apple crisps and puff pastry on the sides.
Serve immediately.