Layered Apple Pie
By Anne Willhoit
Apple trees abound in unexpected places on our island. It’s a fun game in the fall to see if you can spot them tucked here and there. My favorite thing is to see handwritten signs that invite walkers to pick some, saving them from the ground and the eventual browsing deer. It feels like a specifically island moment to arrive home on a sunset evening with a backpack full of someone else’s apples, generously given.
You probably already have a favorite pie recipe in your family or in your bookmarks, but this pie has a surprise twist—a layer of cheesecake on the bottom. Layered pies are a little more work than pies with just a fruit filling, but they present a nice contrast of flavors and textures. This one begins with an unfussy crisp crust, with no need to prebake. Next, a layer of simplified cheesecake hides under the expected pile of sliced apples. All of this is capped by a crunchy streusel topping. And if that bottom layer of sweet cheese reminds you of a tasty Danish and you’re seeking permission to eat it for breakfast? Granted.
Crust:
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1 1/2 tsp. sugar
1/2 cup unsalted cold butter
3- 4 TBSP. of: 1/2 cup cold water + 2 TBSP. apple cider vinegar + 1/2 cup ice, mixed
A little room-temperature butter to prepare the pan
Crumb topping:
4 TBSP. butter
1/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
Cheesecake layer:
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 cup cream cheese
1 egg
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp. vanilla
1/4 tsp. kosher salt
Apple layer:
4 apples
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 cup sugar
3 TBSP. flour
1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
2. Add the crust ingredients to a food processor, slicing the butter into a few hunks before adding it. Pulse briefly to create uneven and smaller butter pieces. Slowly drizzle in 3 to 4 tablespoons of the ice water mix until the dough just comes together. Dump it all out on your work surface and bring it together with your hands. Pat it into a flatter circle, wrap and refrigerate. (Don’t wash your food processor bowl.)
3. Make the crumb topping. Pulse all the ingredients together. Dump onto a plate. Squeeze together and scrunch a little bit, making bigger, uneven clumps. Set aside.
4. Tap or wipe out the crumbs left behind, then use your food processor to blend the cream cheese layer all together. Set aside.
5. Butter a 9-inch pie plate. Roll out the crust, letting a bit overhang the sides of the plate. Roll this extra under, sitting it up on top of the plate edge. Crimp.
6. Spread the cream cheese layer in the bottom of the pie crust.
7. Peel the apples and slice thinly, none larger than 1/4 inch. In a bowl, mix apples with the flour, sugar and cinnamon. Immediately, and in big handfuls, lay the apples evenly on top of the cheese layer.
8. Squeeze and sprinkle on the streusel.
9. Bake in the center of the oven for 50 minutes.
10. Let the pie cool completely or serve chilled. Store in the fridge.
