Spiced pie with apples and honey
8 servings
90 minutes
Spicy apple and honey pie is a true culinary masterpiece that harmoniously combines the sweetness of honey, the gentle tartness of apples, and a rich bouquet of spicy spices. The origins of this dessert can be found in European cuisine, where spices have been added to baked goods for centuries to enhance flavor and aroma. Warm notes of cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger turn the pie into a cozy treat perfect for cold evenings. Red wine and lemon zest add depth to the flavor, making it rich and memorable. This pie is not just a dessert but a true gastronomic journey that adds special charm to tea time or family dinners. Its juicy filling remains soft thanks to the marinade while the dough is elastic and fragrant, creating an ideal balance of textures.
1
To achieve a rich flavor and juicy, aromatic filling, it's best to soak chopped apples in marinade for 20-25 minutes (but for improved infusion, the longer, the better, even overnight).
- Apple: 5 piece
2
Marinade. There are no friends in taste and color, but for lovers of spicy and rich food, I wrote additional ingredients in the form of coriander and pepper mix - you can use a little or be more generous if you don't have fresh ginger on hand or if its amount is very small.
- Ground coriander: to taste
- Ground pepper mix: to taste
3
So, we take 150g of honey if the chosen apples are sweet-sour, sweet, or of 'neutral' taste (I would call them 'tasteless'), or 200g if they are specifically 'sour' :))
- Honey: 150 g
4
Pour red wine into a small cup (any wine will do, even homemade, as long as it's not fortified). If there's no wine or not enough, you can save the situation with strong black tea.
- Red wine: 60 ml
5
Fresh ginger (if dried, increase the amount by 2 times) 2-2.5 cm peeled, finely chopped, and added to our wine.
- Fresh ginger: to taste
6
In a mug with wine and ginger, add 2 cloves, the juice of half a lemon (if the apples and marinade seem sweet enough, squeeze another half, totaling 1 lemon in the marinade).
- Carnation: 2 pieces
- Lemon: 0.5 piece
7
The remaining lemon peel is cut into small pieces. ATTENTION! Lemons come in different varieties: there are those with soft thin skin - our lemons, and those with thick skin - not ours. Be careful with the 'not ours' ones. If you are sure that your kitchen appliance will turn the peel into 'almost powder', then feel free to send it to the mixer/blender; if not, it's better to grate the peel by hand. After the procedure, send the lemon crumbs to a cup with the marinade.
- Lemon: 0.5 piece
8
We put the marinade in a small pot over low heat, add cinnamon, a bit of salt (coriander and pepper), and mix thoroughly. We add honey. We wait a couple of minutes until the honey dissolves, stirring constantly. As soon as bubbles appear, we remove the marinade from the heat, pour it over the apples in a bowl, cover with a lid and take it to a warm place.
- Ground cinnamon: 3 teaspoons
- Salt: 1 teaspoon
- Ground coriander: to taste
- Ground pepper mix: to taste
- Honey: 150 g
9
We are preparing the dough. The shape of the pie doesn't matter at all, but its structure should be like a 'house' - a solid floor and walls, with a roof on top. This is done for our filling, as we will pour all the contents into the 'house' and cover it with a roof to prevent the fragrant moisture from evaporating.
10
The dough should be elastic and not too thin. Therefore, we sift the flour, add grated nutmeg, half a pack of vanillin, half a teaspoon of baking soda, a little sugar and salt. We mix.
- Wheat flour: 300 g
- Nutmeg: 0.5 teaspoon
- Vanillin: 0.3 teaspoon
- Soda: 1 teaspoon
- Sugar: 1.5 tablespoon
- Salt: 1 teaspoon
11
Melt the butter, beat the egg with a pinch of salt and sugar.
- Butter: 60 g
- Chicken egg: 2 pieces
- Salt: 1 teaspoon
- Sugar: 1.5 tablespoon
12
Pour oil into the flour and mix.
- Butter: 60 g
13
Then the egg. If there is not enough elasticity, we stabilize the situation with vegetable oil.
- Chicken egg: 2 pieces
- Vegetable oil: 3 tablespoons
14
We shape the dough ball, cover it with a towel/plastic wrap, and let it rest in the room for 20 minutes.
15
Preheat the oven to 200 degrees.
16
We separate 2/3 of the dough, roll it out, and line the form with baking paper.
17
We place the dough in the mold, arranging the walls. We put the mold in the oven for 15 minutes.
18
Roll out the remaining 1/3 thinly.
19
After 15 minutes, we take out the mold, sprinkle the bottom with semolina, arrange our apples with the marinade. We cover it with a lid, pinch the edges, and send it to the oven for 30 minutes at 150 degrees.
- Semolina: 4 tablespoons