Russian-style Apple Pie

Yes, long-overdue, but here's another post! :D

This is probably the easiest thing you can make, I promise! I've tried a number of different apple pie recipes, but most North American recipes call for the typical crust-fruit-crust type of a pie. Being from Belarus, I'm used to more of a "mixed" pie variety (I might've commented on this before :P), some people would call that a tart.

I've made this Apple Pie before (a recipe from a Russian book I have), but it takes a bit of a commitment and I was feeling really lazy... So anyways, I was browsing on a Russian-language website and found this easy recipe of Sharlotka (aka Russian apple pie, or a Charlotte, if you will). I guarantee it, you'll love it! Minimal ingredients and depending on the type of apple you pick and the amount of sugar you use, it can be tart or sweet, or somewhere in between - the choice is yours!

Here's how it goes:

Ingredients:
* 2-4 apples (amount depends on their size; I used 3)
* 3 eggs
* 3-4 tbsp of sugar
* 3-4 tbsp of flour with a heap
* soda & vinegar (half a tsp of each)
* cinnamon (optional)
* (the photo here shows butter, which I planned on using to rub the pan, but ended up skipping that)

Directions:

1. Wash and chop up the apples (you can peel them as well, if that's your preference). Here's a trick I use to get through this task - I half the apples and scoop out the middle with the melon "baller" (whatever you call that thing, LOL!)

2. Evenly distribute the chopped apples in the pan that you'll use for your pie (I used a 10-inch silicone pan, which I found a bit too large for this recipe; use an 8-inch and you should get a thicker pie).

3. Whip the eggs and sugar together (until it appears that the sugar has more or less dissolved). I used 3 tbsp of sugar, but you can add more if you are using tart apples or prefer a sweeter pie.

4. Preheat the oven to 350°F.


Start adding flour slowly (one tbsp at a time). I used a handheld mixer to ensure it mixed well, but you can achieve the same result with a whisk/fork.

Pour a little vinegar over half a tbs of soda (it'll get fizzy) and add that to the mix (it'll help your dough rise a bit). You can use lemon juice instead of vinegar. Mix everything well (it'll be of a thick but liquid consistency, sort of like sour cream).

5. Pour the mix over the apples - since my pan was a bit too wide, you can see the apples more; just ensure to distribute the dough mix evenly.

Bake for approximately 40-50 minutes; poke the pie and check that the toothpick/knife comes out clean.






Bon appétit!

Nadia