Apple pie and pastry cream: the recipe for a delicious and spectacular dessert

The apple pie and pastry cream it’s a candy fragrant e fragrant: a scenographic variant of the Apple pieideal to serve as a dessert at the end of a meal or for a gourmet break, alone or accompanied by a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

This dessert, in fact, is characterized by a crumbly and buttery shell of pastrywhich contains a filling of Creamsweet and fragrant thanks to lemon zest.

But the particularity of the preparation lies in the decoration effectcomposed by thin slices of appleslayered to resemble the petals of a rose.

Making the apple and cream pie is really easy. If you have little time, it can also become quick: indeed, you can make both shortcrust pastry and custard in advance.

If you want to give the preparation a more pronounced and spicy flavor, you can sprinkle the apples with a little cinnamon in powder, and if you like them I apple cakesalso try the recipeApple pie or the Classic Apple Cake.

How to prepare apple and cream pie

The apple pie and pastry cream requires two basic preparations – the pastry and the Cream -, associated with each other and enriched with a decoration of thin slices of apple arranged in concentric circles.

All you need is a blender, whisks, a few bowls, a rolling pin and a 24cm tart tin.

Let’s see how to prepare it step by step.

How to prepare shortcrust pastry

Here is how to prepare the shortcrust pastry, which will be set aside and cooked with the cream and the apples. You can make a fresher, crispier version of apple pie and custard by baking shortcrust pastry in white and add, with a little butter and sugar, the cream and the pan-fried apples only after the shell has been cooked.

To prepare the apple and pastry cream pie, start by making the shortcrust pastry. In the bowl of the mixer, put the flour, a pinch of salt and the still cold cubed butter from the fridge. Mix the ingredients until you get a combined but sandy mixture. 1.

At this point, add the sugar, vanilla extract and, finally, the eggs. Pour the mixture on a surface and work it: you should obtain a smooth and compact paste 2. Wrap the dough in cling film and let it rest in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.

How to prepare pastry cream

While the dough is resting, prepare the pastry cream. To make it a beautiful bright color, always choose yellow-fleshed eggs.

Start with the lemon zest, which you will need to obtain using a potato peeler. Avoid cutting the white part of the skin, which is bitter and unpleasant in taste. If you have trouble getting rid of it, you can help yourself with a pocket knife 3.

In a bowl, combine cornstarch and sugar 4.

In a saucepan, on the other hand, heat the milk: it should not come to a boil 5.

Add the eggs to the sugar and starch mixture. Then pour in the milk slowly, stirring constantly so as not to create lumps 6.

Transfer the mixture to the saucepan, add the lemon zest and bring to a boil on the stove, keeping the heat low. Stir constantly and cook until smooth and creamy. When the movement of the whisk leaves a trail on the surface of the cream, turn off the heat seven. To understand if the cream has reached the right density, check with a spoon that it is not too liquid.

Once ready, pour the cream into a bowl, cover it with cling film and set aside 8.

How to Assemble and Decorate Apple and Cream Pie

Once the dough and cream are ready, all that remains is to assemble, decorate and bake the tart. In particular, we use for the decoration of Renettebut you can opt for kinds of apples which you prefer, such as pink ladythe Granny Smith of the delicious golden, according to your tastes and availability. Finally, to easily extract the pie after baking, choose a cake mold with a removable bottom. Even a sheet of parchment paper on the bottom of the mold can prove to be a valid ally to unmold it.

Peel and core the apples, cut them into thin slices and sprinkle with lemon juice. Try cutting the apples so that they are the same size. To make it easier for you, you can use a mandolin 9.

Take the shortcrust pastry out of the fridge and roll it out with a rolling pin to a thickness of 5 mm. ten.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 180°C in convection mode. Butter and flour a 24 cm tart tin, line it with the shortcrust pastry and prick the bottom with the tines of a fork 11.

Pour in the cream and level with a spatula. Be sure not to overdo the custard so as not to compromise the baking of the puff pastry. Spread the apple slices on the cream: start from the outside and proceed concentrically towards the center of the pie, as if to form the petals of a flower 12. To prevent the apples from sinking, try to place them in the cream as vertically as possible. Sprinkle the surface of the pie with the brown sugar. Bake the cake at 180°C for 30-35 minutes or until the pastry is golden brown and the apples are slightly caramelized around the edges.

Once out of the oven, wait for the cream to cool slightly. After the necessary time, serve the apple pie and the custard 13.

How to Get Perfectly Baked Apples for Pie

In the cream pie it can happen that the apples do not cook perfectly: to avoid this annoying inconvenience, it is important that the slices are all cut to the same size. If you’re not sure you can use the knife, use a mandolin. The thinner the slices, the less likely they are to not cook.

Tips and variations

If you are looking for a simpler and faster way to prepare this pie, cut the apples into 8 and cook them for 5 minutes in a pan with butter before placing them on the cream: this way you will get a more rustic but equally delicious pie, thanks to the softness and creaminess of the chopped apples.

You can also prepare this pie by single serving version: follow all the steps indicated, fill the molds with a diameter of 10 cm with shortcrust pastry and finally bake at 180°C for about 20 minutes.

If, after assembling the pie, you have shortcrust pastry and apple slices left over, you can prepare delicious apple and cinnamon tartlets or tasty apple heart cookies.

storage

The apple pie and pastry cream can be stored in the refrigerator by 3-4 dayscovered with cling film or closed under a cake dome.