Sparkling Wine Green Apple Pie
A Love Tale of No Chocolate
I suppose every Valentine’s Day scene that has been presented to us is filled with some sort of chocolate fantasy where anything and everything there is made out of it. I would definitely not complain if I were living in a world surrounded by fragrant chocolate peonies, melting chocolate candles and actual chocolate kisses. But if you aren’t a will-die-for-chocolate kind of lover or you are just simply looking for a different kind of a sugary love affair, this sparkling wine apple pie is your perfect match. I love that this pie is fresh, romantic and bright! It’s like a foreshadowing of spring.
The idea of this apple pie was, as any good love story, love at first sight. I had a bag of medium green apples on my fridge with no exciting plans for their future. I suddenly took a glance at them and had a moment with their cute size and vibrant green color. That’s when I decided I wanted to create a dessert where that interesting contrast between tart and sweet will shine. No spices or other notes, just the tartness of green apples. And since it was becoming a love story between a poor fruit I usually ignore like it’s the last thing on earth and me, a pie full of hearts was in order.
To enhance that tartness I used lime juice and, something Valentine’s Day cannot miss, sparkling wine. These two components were key on bringing out those tart and sweet notes that we all love about green apples.
I think the flaky and buttery texture of the crust combined with the slightly crunchy tart and sweet green apples were just so decadent and kind of sexy. Maybe it’s the simplicity of the flavors that let those green apples and the sparkling wine become the stars, but now I think fresh green apple pie should be the new chocolate for Valentine’s Day. It doesn’t matter if you are celebrating with your lovey, your family of your friends during a fun Galentine’s Day.
You can totally make this pie one or two days ahead. Or you can make the components before and then put everything together and bake the day you are planning on serving. Pie is easy, but sometimes you need to take actions on the moment regardless of a recipe. That’s why I recommend you to check my guide on How to Make a Perfect Pie so you have all my tricks on hand, plus the recipe for my flaky, buttery pie crust is there too. With a bit of organization you can make this fantastic sparkling wine and green apple pie in breeze.
Recipe Notes
I prefer that anything that goes into a pie is bite size and not too thick. That’s why I sliced the apples between ¼” and ⅛” thin and then cut those slices in half. That way I got perfect bite size apples that weren’t too thick.
For reference, a dash of salt is less than a pinch and by definition, a pinch is ⅛ Tsp. The more you know ; )
I cooked the apples for a few minutes before filling the pie because I prefer them a bit soft and let all the crunchy texture come from the crust. But if you prefer crunchier apples, omit the step of cooking them and just combine them with all the ingredients except butter. Continue with recipe and add the butter in small pieces before covering your pie.
Check the pie crust recipe plus lots of tips and tricks on my How to Make a Beautiful Pie guide to bake a successful pie.
For decorations on this pie I used a medium, small and mini heart shaped cookie cutter to create movement. You can use just one size heart shaped cutter to create a design with more symmetry or any other shape you prefer.
Sparkling Wine Green Apple Pie
Ingredients
Pie Crust
◯ One recipe of pie dough, click here for pie dough full recipe
Green apple pie filling
◯ Very green apples, peeled, sliced and chopped in half – 6 cups, about 6 medium size apples (see notes about how I cut them for the perfect bite)
◯ Grass-fed butter – 3 TBSP, divided
◯ Raw or natural sugar – ¼ cup + 2 TBSP
◯ Freshly squeezed lime juice – 1 TBSP
◯ Sparking wine – 4 TBSP, divided
◯ Unbleached all-purpose flour - 4 TBSP + 1 TBSP
◯ Dash of fine sea salt (or a tad bit more to taste)
Sweetened Cream
◯ Heavy whipping cream, very chilled – ½ cup
◯ Raw sugar – 2 TBSP
◯ Pure vanilla extract – ¾ Tsp
Details
Yield:
an 8” Apple Pie
Total Time:
2.5 hours, including chilling and freezing times (alternatively the dough could be chilled overnight)
Active time:
about 10 minutes preparing the dough, 20 minutes rolling and shaping decorations
Baking time:
45 to 50 minutes
Equipment:
food processor, 8” to 9” tart pan with removable bottom or pie dish, rolling pin, cookie cutter for decorations, pastry brush
Steps
To make the pie crust dough:
Follow recipe and instructions from my guide on How to Make a Beautiful Pie.
To make the apple pie filling:
Beaten egg with a little bit of milk of choice and a little bit of vegetable oil for egg wash.
In a large skillet slightly melt 2 tablespoons of butter over medium-high heat. Add the ¼ cup of sugar and the lime juice and mix. Add the apples and 3 tablespoons of the flour and mix to coat the apples. Cook for 3 to 5 minutes, moving occasionally, until apples start to sweat and become a bit softer. Remove from heat and incorporate 2 tablespoons of the sparkling wine and the salt, mixing everything once more. Let it cool down. You may prepare this one day in advance and store it in the fridge. Let it loose the chill before adding the rest of the ingredients.
Right before filling your pie, sprinkle the reaming 2 tablespoons of sugar, add the remaining 2 tablespoons of sparkling wine and remaining tablespoon of flour. Mix well.
Putting everything together:
Cut you aluminum foil paper to cover the pie and spray it with baking spray on the bottom side (see notes on pie crust recipe post for more on these tips).
Fill with the apples your prepared pie pan with the bottom crust already in place. Cut in small pieces the remaining tablespoon of butter and place them across the top of the apple filling.
Top your pie with your pie dough decorations, making sure you are leaving some spots open for ventilation. (In the pictures of the raw pie you can see how there are some open spots between the hearts)
Place pie on freezer for 20 minutes.
Prepare your egg wash by mixing a beaten egg with ½ teaspoon of water, ½ teaspoon of any milk and a bit of vegetable oil.
Take pie out of the freezer and gently brush the top with the egg wash. Since the decorations will be overlapping, make sure egg mixture pools doesn’t form on top of the dough. Sprinkle the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar form the piecrust recipe through the whole top of the pie. Cover your pie with foil. Place it on a baking sheet and bring it to oven.
Start oven on 400°. Bake for 20 minutes, then uncover and bake for 20 to 30 minutes more, until top is crispy and golden brown. Be careful when uncovering your pie because some dough could have stick to the foil. If that’s the case, carefully unstick from foil and arrange over the pie before continue baking.
Remove from oven and let it cool down before cutting.
The best crust is when you cool down and chill your pie in the fridge, place it in oven to heat at 400° for 5 minutes and, let it cool down for about 10 minutes still in the oven and the let it cool down a bit at room temperature. Just sayin’!
To make the sweetened cream:
Start by beating your very chilled cream with the whisk attachment in medium slow speed (#2 in the Kitchen Aid). Whisk until the cream starts to look thick and stable and has increased in size. When the whisk wires start to leave a shallow indentation, slowly add the sugar, one tablespoon at a time. Add vanilla extract. Keep whisking until the cream looks firm but soft. You should stop when you see wrinkles around the now deeper indentations of the whisk wires. Serve over pie or chill until ready to serve.
