What to use?
For dough: 200 g butter, 390 g plain flour, 1 tsp salt, 2 tablespoons white sugar, 3 tablespoons ground almonds and approx. 3 tablespoons maple syrup.
For filling: 5 large apples, 1 tsp cinnamon, 3 tablespoons honey and 3 tablespoons ground almonds; a handful of walnuts and dried cranberries for a richer taste.
To decorate (optional): ground hazelnuts and sugar.
The preparation is more than simple: peel the apples, grate them and place them in a bowl. Add cinnamon, honey and ground almonds to create the filling (if adding walnuts, chop them first; add dried cranberries). In another bowl place the butter, softened to the room temperature, with the flour and use both hands to create a crumbly mixture. Afterwards add salt, sugar and ground almonds.
Use a round mold (24 cm diameter; optionally with the removable core), grease it with butter and take 2/3 of the crumbly dough for the pie base. Use the spoon to press it gently so it can become more coherent (what makes it more delicious is the apple juice which will soak it during the baking). Add the filling. In the rest of the dough add the maple syrup, as much as it takes to make the big crumbles whilst mixing it with the spoon. Spontaneously add it on the top, covering it.
Bake 25 minutes in the preheated oven on 180°C. After the pie is taken out and left to get cold, add some ground hazelnuts on the top and sprinkle it with the ground sugar. If you ever make it, do not forget to let me know about it!
Gloria La Marr 