Apple Crumble (Polish Szarlotka)

Szarlotka is a staple found in every cafe and bakery. This Szarlotka recipe combines a thick layer of apples with a dense, cake-like crust and a crumble topping, to create a Polish apple pie that is sure to be a fall favourite. Szarlotka varies tremendously from one baker to another. Some are just apples and spices while some include raisins and others feature almonds. Some have a meringue topping, while others boast a crumble on top, and others have a whole second layer of cake! As you can see from the picture, the "pie" itself is more of a layered cake or crumble with an apple pie filling. But, they call szarlotka a "Polish apple pie" because there is a whole different category of Polish desserts devoted to actual apple cake, called Placek z Jablka.

For the Crust:
4 cup all-purpose flour, unbleached
½ cup sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1 cup (½ lb) salted butter, softened
4 eggs
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
3 Tbsp. milk

For the Filling:
2 lbs firm baking apple (Gala, McIntosh, or Pink Lady), peeled, cored, and sliced
2 lbs soft baking apple (Braeburn, Red Delicious, or Fuji), peeled, cored, and sliced
2 tsp. cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C/160°C fan, Gas Mark 4).

For the Crust:
In a large bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, and baking powder. Cut in the butter, using a pastry blender or a fork, until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Mix in the eggs and vanilla extract until the mixture is evenly moist. Add the milk, 1 Tbsp. at a time, mixing with your hands after each addition until a firm but slightly sticky dough forms. (Add extra milk if necessary.)

Turn the dough onto the counter and knead a few times, quickly (it may stick to the counter a bit) to finish bringing the dough together. Divide the dough into two pieces, roughly 2/3 and 1/3 of the dough. Wrap the smaller section in plastic wrap and place in the freezer for 30 minutes,

while you continue working. Press the larger section into a greased 9” spring form pan. Bake the bottom crust in the preheated oven for 15 minutes, until it is puffy and starting to turn golden around the edges. When the crust is done, remove it from the oven to a cooling rack.

For the Filling:
While the bottom crust is baking, mix the apples and cinnamon in a large sauté pan or large pot. Heat the apples over medium-high heat and sauté for 5-7 minutes, until the apples soften slightly and the mixture becomes fragrant. Remove the mixture from the heat.

Assembly:
Spread the warm filling over the warm crust. (It will look like you have a lot of apples. Don’t worry; they cook down.) Take the last 1/3 of the crust out of the freezer and grate it over the apple filling using a cheese grater (or crumble it over top of the apples using your fingers).

Place an aluminum foil lined baking sheet in the oven on the rack below where the pie will go, to catch any dripping from the spring form pan. Return the pie to the oven and bake for 40-45 minutes, until the top is golden.

Cooling and Serving:
Remove the pie from the oven and let it cool completely on a cooling rack. Once the pie is cool it can be served or covered lightly with plastic wrap and left on the counter overnight, to be served the following day. (This pie is great when made a day ahead of time, because the flavours develop and the crust softens overnight.) 

Makes 8 servings.

Cook's Notes:  This pie can be stored, covered, on the counter for up to 2 days. After 2 days, store any leftovers in an air-tight container in the refrigerator.