Well, I haven’t had made this old fashioned marvel for some time! There’s nothing like the smell of freshly baked apple and cinnamon. This week, there was a community bake sale and this was my contribution to the cause. It is an event held a couple of times per year at a local mall. Members of various ethnic and other interested groups are free to rent a table. Moms and dads bake something good and few good volunteers spend a joyful couple of days selling and sharing their culinary heritage. In our case, proceeds are used to support community events and the work of our kids folklore group.
Needless to say, I was more than happy to do my part. It is hard to find a simpler to make, yet, such a tasty cake. The crumbly, sweet, and tender texture combined with smooth sour apple filling, is pure heaven. Have it with cup of tea or coffee and you are set for a real treat. Lazy Apple Pie is a very common and popular cake across the Western Balkans. Pretty much every household has its own family recipe variation. Mine is no exception. It is a modified version of my mother’s recipe. No need for mixer or any other modern, fancy kitchen tool. It is all done by hand, the old fashion way. Maybe that’s where the “lazy” attribute came from.
Print Recipe
Lazy Apple Pie
Sweet and sour apple filling combined with a crumbly, tender pastry.
Instructions
Pastry
Sift the flour and mix together with baking powder and granulated sugar.
Cut the butter and lard into small cubes and add to the mixture.
Cut the fat into the flour mix. The basic idea is to keep handling to the minimum to avoid stringy gluten protein formation. Refrain from working with your hands in order to prevent the fat from melting. This would make the dough hard to work with and it may fall apart. Instead, use a manual pastry blender or pair of knives in a scissor motion. You want to incorporate the fat particles into the flour mix. The fat will lubricate the flour granules and consequently form a discontinuous, granular texture. This in turn will discourage gluten protein from forming, once liquid is added, in order to make dough. Cutting is done when the texture resembles corn meal or rough bread crumbs.
Add milk and use a fork to mix. Briefly work the dough out with your hands until everything is incorporated.
Divide the dough into two equal portions. Shape each portion into block about 8 cm x 13 cm (~3" x 5") and wrap into cling film. Leave the dough in the fridge to cool, rest, and hydrate for 30 minutes.
Filling
While the dough is resting peel the apples.
Grate all the apples into a large skillet, sprinkle with lemon juice.
Add honey and cinnamon to the skillet and mix together.
Cover and let it sit over medium low heat until the apples release some juice, about 6-7 minutes.
Uncover and cook another 8 minutes until apples become slightly tender. Stir periodically.
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Assembling and Baking
Prewarm oven to 170°C (~340°F).
The baking pan I used is 40 cm x 24 cm. Cut two parchment paper pieces, the same size as the pan. These will be used to roll out the pastry layers. Also cut a larger piece of parchment paper and line the baking pan. Crumble it into a ball and wet it under the tap to make it easier for lining.
Roll out the first pastry in a rectangular shape on the parchment paper. Transfer it to the lined baking pan and turn it upside down. Peel off the parchment paper carefully and gently stretch the pastry around the edges to fill in any gaps.
Spread the apple filling evenly.
Roll out the second pastry layer and transfer on top of the apple filling. Peel off the parchment paper and use a fork to lightly pierce the top pastry.
Put it in the oven and bake for 60 minutes.
Take it out of oven and let cool completely.
Cut into 50 mm (2") squares and dust with icing sugar.
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