Apple pie

Apple pie is a fruit pie filled primarily with apples. It typically features shortcrust pastry on both the top and bottom, with the top crust either solid or woven into a lattice pattern. The bottom crust can be blind-baked separately to avoid sogginess. Tarte Tatin, a variation, is baked with pastry on top but served upside down so the fruit is visible.

The earliest known apple pie recipes date to 14th-century England, and the dessert is now common in many apple-growing regions worldwide. It holds significance in Europe, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the United States. American versions tend to be sweeter than European ones due to greater sugar use.

The filling can use various apple varieties, such as Braeburn, Gala, Cortland, Bramley, Empire, Northern Spy, Granny Smith, or McIntosh. Apples may be fresh, canned, or reconstituted from dried fruit—dried apples were originally used when fresh ones were unavailable. Basic filling ingredients include sugar and an acidic component like lemon juice, which also prevents browning. Thickeners such as eggs or cornstarch may be added, and butter is common in the US. Spices like cinnamon or nutmeg are optional. Older recipes sometimes used honey instead of costly sugar. Most pies use shortcrust pastry, though tarte Tatin uses puff pastry, and the Greek milopita bougatsa uses filo.

In the UK, apple pie is traditionally served with custard, though whipped or poured cream is also common. In the US, it is often served à la mode, topped with ice cream. Another style, originating in 17th-century England, places a slice of sharp cheddar or Wensleydale cheese on top, a practice also found in the US and Canada, especially in dairy-farming regions like New England.

A commercially prepared American apple pie is about 52% water, 34% carbohydrates, 2% protein, and 11% fat. A 100-gram serving provides 237 calories and no significant micronutrients.

In Canada, apples were harvested as early as the 17th century in Quebec and Nova Scotia. A 1920 recipe included Limberger cheese, and a 1934 cookbook used Canadian sour apples. Varieties include mumble crumble, Dutch apple, and apple maple pie with maple syrup.

England’s 14th-century recipe collection *Forme of Cury* describes a pie with good apples, spices, figs, raisins, and pears in a pastry casing, colored with saffron. Lattice crusts appeared in the 17th century alongside dome-shaped crusts. Traditionally, apples were stewed before baking, but modern versions often use thick layers of sweetened Bramley apple slices, layered into a dome to prevent sagging, topped with shortcrust pastry, and baked until cooked. In Yorkshire, Wilfa apple cake, though called a cake, is made with shortcrust pastry and topped with Wensleydale cheese. In English-speaking countries, apple pie is considered comfort food, served hot or cold, alone or with cream, custard, or ice cream, and sold in supermarkets as mini multipacks.

France has several types: tarte aux pommes and tarte Tatin, both with puff pastry. Tarte Tatin caramelizes apples in butter and sugar before baking, then serves the tart with pastry on the bottom and caramelized apples exposed. Other variants include Normandy tart and croustade.

In Germany, apple pie falls under *Apfelkuchen*. The traditional fully encased pastry version is *Gedeckter apfelkuchen*, with apples baked in the oven.

Italy’s national apple pie is *Crostata di Mele*, featuring a shortcrust base with apple jam or slices, either open or latticed. A local specialty is *Sfogliata di mele teramana* from Abruzzo, made with puff pastry layered with apple slices.

Dutch apple pie recipes date to the Middle Ages. A 1514 Dutch cookbook, *Een notabel boecxken van cokeryen*, includes a recipe for *Appeltaerten*: shortcrust pastry, soft apple slices with skin and seeds removed, and more dough on top, baked in a Dutch oven. After baking, the top crust (except edges) was cut out, apples possibly sieved, and the pie stirred with a wooden spoon. Spices like cardamom, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, mace, and powdered sugar were added, along with cream, then the pie was returned to the oven.