Rose Apple Pie

5 from 6 votes

This Rose Apple Pie is an apple that looks like a gigantic rose. Red and green apples are layered to appear like petals. The entire pie is brushed with a butterscotch glaze and a pinch of flakey sea salt.

Prep Time40

Cook Time25

Chilling Time20

Total Time1 25

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American, French

Diet: Vegetarian

Servings: single 9-inch pie crust

Author: Adrianna Adarme

Cost: $9

Equipment

1 (9-inch) pie plate or tart pan
1 mandolin

Ingredients

Filling:

1 lemon
7-8 apples weighing: 1 1/2 pounds, cored and quartered
1/4 cup light brown sugar
2 teaspoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Pinch freshly grated nutmeg
Pinch of salt

Bourbon Glaze:

1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoons bourbon
Flakey sea salt for garnish

Instructions

To Make Prepare the Apple Filling:

Squeeze the lemon into a medium bowl. Using a mandolin (set on the second setting), slice each quartered apple into 1/8-inch slivers.
As the apples are sliced, transfer them to the bowl and toss them in the lemon juice; this will prevent them from browning. (Reserve one quarter of an apple for the center - we're going to slice that later).
Repeat until all the apples are sliced and in the bowl. To the bowl, add the brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Toss until evenly coated.

To Assemble the Pie:

Roll out your pie crust and place it in a 9-inch pie pan or 9-inch tart shell. (I chose the latter.) Trim the edges and discard. If you're using a tart shell, you can simply roll the rolling pin on top to trim it. Feel free to add a crimped edge to the pie if you're using a pie plate.
Arrange the apple slices side-by-side, placing the cut side down on the pie crust. Start closest to the edge of the tart shell/pie plate. Continue as you work yourself around. This will take a good 15 minutes.
As you get to the center, you'll need apple slivers that are very thin. Slice the reserved quarter of an apple very thinly (on the mandolin's first setting) and arrange it until the gap in the center is completely closed.
I took a few slices and rolled it onto itself to and placed that in the very center like a rose's center.

To Chill the Pie:

Transfer the pie to the freezer and freeze until firm, about 20 minutes. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F. Brush the edges of the crust with egg wash and place in the oven for 25 to 30 minutes, checking on it at the 20-minute-mark to make sure all is ok, until the apples are lightly golden brown and the edges of the crust are browned. Allow to come to room temperature on a cooling rack.

To Make the Glaze:

In a saucepan medium, placed over moderately high heat, pour in the brown sugar and butter. Cook until the sugar begins to melt and turns a darker shade of golden brown around the edges. Remove from the heat and pour in the bourbon. It will bubble up, not to worry - this is normal. Continue whisking it until it becomes smooth again.
Brush the apples liberally with the warm glaze. You may have a tablespoon or two of extra glaze. I say put it your coffee! Top with flakey sea salt and serve with ice cream or whipped cream.

Notes

Tips and Tricks:

A mandolin is a must. It'll make the whole process go much quicker and you really need to have apple slices that aren't too thick.

My apples were pretty small. If you're using normal-sized apples, use a pie pan. (I opted to use a tart shell because the apple slices were pretty small.) My apples were too small for a normal pie pan and a tad bit too big for a tart shell so I trimmed about a 1/2-inch from the bottom of the slices.

On arranging the slices - The second layer of apple slices should be arranged in between the first layers indentations. Does this make sense? This creates the illusion of a rose. It's fairly easy and actually kinda fun once you get started.

The freezer is your friend - Freeze the whole thing for 20 minutes before baking it. I know that seems weird but arranging the apple slices takes a good 15 minutes or so. By the time you're done, the pie shell or tart shell will need to rechill.

Use a combination of apples - I used granny smith and pink lady. I liked the color variation. I think all granny smith would be too tart. But all red and pink lady or honey crisp would be delicious.

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