behomeforT: Dutch Apple Pie - Hollandse Appeltaart

It has been a while since I have posted something on the blog. For good reason though. For the last couple of weeks I have been researching hotels, b&b's and agriturismo's in Italy. I have been planning our trip to Italy. I'm so excited! Only two days to go! If you want to read all about the food in Italy, see nice pics of landscapes and a lot of wine and cheese (hopefully), you're in the right place!

I will also be visiting my family back in Holland and attend my friend's wedding. Living on the other side of the world of course has its pro's and con's, and not being able to attend weddings or other important events is one of them. This is the first time I have been able to attend a wedding, and I am so excited! I have not seen my mum, dad, sister and friends for almost 1,5 years, and some very important things have happened in this time. I got my Permanent Residency, I got admitted as a lawyer, got an amazing new job and had my graduation ceremony. My family could not be here to celebrate any of these events with me and that is very sad. Of course MrBehomeforT is family now too, but every time something exciting and good happens I am a bit sad too. Ah well, that's the way it is, and there is nothing I can do about it. Let's focus on the positive and on the fact that in a few days I will be home.

Talking about home, one of the things I miss is apple pie. Yes, they do have apple pie in Australia too, like in France, and I'm sure Japan and South Africa. Pretty much everywhere around the world. But Dutch Apple pie (well, this version) has Dutch spices in it, which makes it taste a bit different. You serve it with whipped cream (no MrBehomeforT, not with ice cream!) and cold, although I personally like it the most straight out of the oven.

Ingredients
- 8 Granny Smith Apples
- 250g butter (room temp) and a little extra to grease the cake pan
- 200 g white sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste (3 if you like vanilla)
- 2 eggs
- 400g self raising flour, white
- raisins, as many as you like
- 2 tbs cinnamon
- a lot of Dutch Cookie/cake Seasoning. (koekkruiden)

The Recipe
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees celcius, Cut the apples in tiny cubes. Mix the butter with the sugar, vanilla bean paste and a little salt to a smooth mixture If you melt the butter it will be difficult to make the pastry, so it would be better if the butter is room temperature. Add one egg and slowly add the flour. Mix until the dough forms a ball. Wrap the doughball in clingwrap and put it in the fridge or the freezer for a while.

Add the cinnamon and the Dutch Cookie Spice to the apple cubes in addition to the raisins and mix. Once the dough has cooled down in the fridge, take a dough roller and roll out to cover the bottom and the sides of the cake pan with, but make sure you keep 1/4 or so to make the strips for the top of the pie.

Cut the strips and organise them diagonally on top of the cake. Do the same but from the other side so they strips are organised on top of each other in different directions. Whisk the egg and brush on top of the strips so that the pie will get a nice brown colour.

Bake for 1,5 hours but keep a close eye on the cake. Make sure it doesn't burn! You can also decrease the temperature to 150 degrees halfway if you think the pie pay burn.

Enjoy with some whipped cream, either hot or cold.