Apple Pi

Okay, I’m aware this isn’t cake. But I just love working with pastry and look forward to March 14th every year where I can bake a pie in honor of Pi Day! My degree is in Mathematics and I guess you could say I have a special relationship with pi. This year, rather than decorate a typical round pie dish with numbers, I wanted to make the pie itself in the shape of pi! Below are pics before & after baking, as well as my step-by-step notes from the kitchen.

Notes from the Kitchen

I made two batches of my favorite pie crust to relax in the fridge over night. This is a pic of half butter / half shortening that i put in the freezer for a few mins before cutting into the dry ingredients by hand.

I rolled out some dough on a silpat and cut out the pi shape, while eye-balling against a print out. I used a tooth pick to draw the pattern first before committing to cutting.

I then removed the excess, careful to leave them all in the same rolled pieces. If I had balled them up and rolled them out again, it would have overworked the dough.

i folded over the excess pieces so they would be twice the height. Then using my Ateco cutter, I cut out strips.

I placed these thick strips around the border of pi, to hold in the filling.

I then covered the pasty so it could relax in the fridge while I made the filling.

There are many different apples for pie. I personally love using granny smith for a more tart flavor to balance against sweet. But my family friggin’ LOVES honeycrisp, so that’s what I used! They still hold up well in pies and offer a more mild, sli… — There are many different apples for pie. I personally love using granny smith for a more tart flavor to balance against sweet. But my family friggin’ LOVES honeycrisp, so that’s what I used! They still hold up well in pies and offer a more mild, slightly sweet taste.

I peeled the apples and cut them into the thin slices I use for apple pie. However, because this pie is a bit unusual, I cut them further into little chunklets.

The bowl of apples, tossed with spices, sugar, etc.

Once the apple mixture macerated for a bit (and a few other steps), it was ready for the pie.

Rather than spooning the filling onto the crust, I ended up placing piece by piece to really fill in the crust.

I rolled out the remaining pastry and cut into strips to make a lattice.

I laid down strips and wove under/over for the typical lattice pattern. And then cut the excess away.

Cleaned up and trimmed away — ready to relax again before going in the oven.