Caramel Apple Smiles
Googly eyes optional
Hi there! We picked our first 25 lb. bag of apples last week, which for me signals the official start of fall baking. I can’t let the season pass without at least one classic apple pie (definitely a top 3 comfort dessert for me), but I try to save a few apples for more experimental bakes, such as today’s recipe.
For several years now I’ve been intrigued by photos of an apple hand pie made by The Pie Plate, a Niagara-region bakery. Coined “apple rolls,” they’re charmingly simple — a single apple wedge nestled in flaky pastry, then drizzled with icing.
One day I hope to taste an OG apple roll for myself. But in the meantime, a baker’s gonna bake. So I present to you: caramel apple smiles!
My version is a caramelized apple wedge tucked into sour cream rough puff. No warm spices this time (we’ve got months to enjoy those), just a pure apple pastry experience.
I tried a few different assembly methods for these pastries, and ended up favoring the method from my lemon cream hand pie recipe: baking the shells by themselves and filling post-bake. This yielded the best contrast between crisp, flaky pastry and perfectly cooked apple.
Baking the caramelized apple pieces yielded mushier apples and softer pastry, and trying to par-cook the apples to a Goldilocks “just right” level involved too much guesswork. The simplest method of cooking a raw apple in raw pastry worked ok, but the pastry was softer and more erratic in the oven, with the moisture from the apple impeding its rising potential. Also…it’s hard to compete with an apple wedge that’s been gently cooked in a buttery caramel to perfect tenderness. Worth the extra effort, I say!
The apples
The variety of apple you choose is crucial to the success of this recipe. You need something that will hold its shape and develop a buttery tenderness after cooking, not disintegrating into applesauce or turning unpleasantly mealy. Of the several types I tried, my favorites were Gala and Mutsu.
If you’ve ever made tarte tatin, you’ll be familiar with the method of caramelizing apples. Start with making a dry caramel in a heavy-bottomed skillet, then halt the cooking with a little butter once you’ve reached a golden amber. The apples then take a luxurious bath in the caramel, their juices releasing and intensifying during the process. You wind up with buttery-tender caramelly apples plus a beautiful apple-y caramel sauce that cannot be wasted — in this recipe, I use it to glue the apples to the pastry. Magic!
The pastry
The sour cream enriched pastry here is based off a recipe from the ever-reliable King Arthur Baking. Sour cream and a pinch of baking powder offer extra tenderness, and the dough is a dream to handle. As usual, I like subbing in some whole grain flour (spelt here, but I think einkorn or kamut would also pair well with the apples) for extra flavor. Don’t have any whole grain flours on hand? Just replace it with the same weight of all purpose.
The assembly
I like to add the apples to the pastry as soon as the shells are cool enough to handle. The pastry is less prone to cracking when still warm, and as the caramel cools it helps glue the apples and shells together.
Enjoy!
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Caramel Apple Smiles
Makes 8 smiles
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