Dutch Apple , Almond & Apricot Pie – Dutch Triple ‘A’ Pie

A lovely Dutch tea time treat also known as Triple ‘A’ Pie .  Triple ‘A’ for apple, almond & apricot  that were the main ingredients to make this tasty  pie .  This amazing pie consists of a nice buttery pie crust with a layer of apricot jam & rich almond filling . I really love the crunchy almond flakes & apricot glaze topping .

 I've made this pie into mini individual ones .  Because of the addition of apricot jam in this pie , I’ve reduced quite a bit of sugar for this recipe . As I do want it to be overly sweet & it turned out to be just the right sweetness for us . I’ve also made some homemade almond paste & you can use store bought paste as well . Thanks to  my friend Lannie from The Netherlands for this delicious recipe  . 

This post is linked to Little Thumbs Up event organized by Zoe of Bake For Happy Kids with Doreen of My Little Favourite DIY & hosted this month by me , Kit from I-Lost in Austen . To join this event & link with us at this post 

Dutch Apple , Almond & Apricot Pie – Dutch Triple ‘A’ Pie

Ingredients :

For the crust base :

200 g butter – room temperature

100g icing sugar (I’ve reduced to 70g)

300g flour

A pinch of salt

½ a lemon zest

1 egg

20 or 22  cm pie plate

For The filling :

3 big apples – peeled, cored & sliced

2 Tbsp apricot jam

½ of vanilla pod (Can be replace with 1 tsp vanilla extract)

½ a lemon zest

130g butter –room temperature

150g almond paste

130g icing sugar ( I’ve reduced to 90g )

3 eggs

130g flour

1 tsp baking powder

A pinch of salt

For the topping:

50g almond flakes

3-4 Tbsp apricot jam

***Homemade almond paste:

125g ground almond

152g sugar

1 fresh egg white

Method:

1)      For the base crust:  Cream butter & sugar till well combined .  Add in flour, salt , lemon zest & egg . Knead into a smooth dough & cover with plastic wrap & place in the fridge for 1 hour .

2)      For the filling : Add sliced apples with apricot jam , vanilla seeds & lemon zest together . Sift flour , baking powder with salt & set aside . Whisk butter till soft & creamy . Add in almond paste , sugar & eggs , mix well till all blended .  Fold in flour mixture till almond paste mixture well combined & fluffy .

3)      Preheat oven to 160°C & greased pie plate .

4)      On a clean  & lightly floured  surface , roll out base dough with a rolling pin . Place base dough in pie plate . Gently press the dough evenly into the bottom & sides of the pie plate . Poke the dough base with a fork .

5)      Spread evenly 2Tbsp of apricot jam onto the base dough . Add in half of the almond paste mixture & layer the sliced apples over it .  Top the rest of the almond paste mixture evenly . Sprinkle almond flakes over the top of the pie & bake for 60 mins till golden brown .  Let to cool .

6)      To finish the topping : In a small saucepan , melt apricot jam on low heat .  Brush melted apricot jam on the top of the pie & serve .

***To make homemade almond paste (marzipan) :

In a food processor ,  add ground almond , sugar & grind till fine for about 1 or 2 minutes . Add in egg white & mix with processor till form thick paste .  Store in an air tight container in the fridge . Can be store for several weeks .