Crustless Apple Pie 16-Nov-2014

This crustless apple pie recipe is prepared within the apple for a Fall treat. Even novice bakers can make this seasonal dish from Marc Matsumoto on the Fresh Tastes blog.

Yield: 4 apple halves

Ingredients

• 35 grams rolled oats (1/3 cup)
• 35 grams all purpose flour (1/4 cup)
• 30 grams fine raw sugar (2 tablespoons) or brown sugar
• 1 gram salt (1/4 teaspoon)
• 43 grams unsalted butter (3 tablespoons), cut into small pieces
• 1 teaspoon of ice water + more if needed
• 100 grams fresh ripe dates
• 1 teaspoon tapioca starch (sometimes called tapioca flour)
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 28 grams unsalted butter (2 tablespoons) melted
• 2 very large apples (about 420 grams each)

Directions

1. Put the oven rack in the middle position and preheat to 190 C (375 F).

2. Add the rolled oats, flour, sugar and salt to the bowl of a small food processor and pulse a few times to break up the oats.

3. Add the butter and pulse 1 second at a time until the mixture looks like a fine gravel.

4. Add the ice water and pulse until the mixture looks like a coarse gravel that’s barely coming together. Add a bit more water if needed.

5. Place the topping in the freezer while you work on the filling.

6. Remove the pits from the dates. The dates should be the consistency of a soft caramel. If you’re using dried dates, you may need to soak them in some boiling water for a few minutes to soften them up.

7. Mash the dates together with the tapioca starch, nutmeg, cinnamon, and melted butter.

8. Cut the apples in half from top to bottom and use a metal measuring spoon or melon scoop to remove the core. After the apple halves are cored, continue carving pieces of apple out and add the pieces to the date mixture. You want to leave at least 1 cm (1/3-inch) of apple around the skin so that the apple holds its shape while being baked.

9. Mix the date mixture and apples together until they are well combine and then divide the mixture into the apples.

10. Take the topping mixture out of the freezer and top each apple with it.

11. Place the stuffed apples on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake until the apples are soft and the topping is golden brown (about 35-45 minutes).