Dutch Apple Pie (Oma's Appeltaart)

Ingredients

for the dough

• 2 1/8 cups self-rising flour (300g)
• 3/4 cup butter or margarine (180g)
• 1/2 cup brown sugar (150g)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla essence or

  1 (8 g) packet vanilla sugar

• 1 pinch salt

for the filling

• 2 1/4 lbs apples (1kg)
• 3/4 cup raisins (washed and dried, 100g)
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar (40g)
• 3 teaspoons cinnamon (or more to taste)
• 2 1/2 teaspoons lemon juice (or more to taste)

and

• 1 egg
• 3 tablespoons semolina (to absorb the juices)

Directions

1. 1

   For the dough:.

2. 2

   Sieve the flour, brown sugar, vanilla and the salt into a bowl.

3. 3

   Cut the butter or margarine into small cubes and add these to the flour mixture.

4. 4

   Beat the egg and add 3/4 of it to the flour mixture (you will need the rest for the top).

5. 5

   Using two knives, mix the butter/margarine and the flour mixture.

6. 6

   Using one hand, kneed it to form the dough - you should be able to form it into a ball (this may take quite long).

7. 7

   Put the ball of dough in the fridge for about an hour, in the meantime, make the filling.

8. 8

   For the filling:.

9. 9

   Peel the apples and cut them in cubes (allow the sizes to vary--it'll taste better).

10. 10

    In a (large) bowl, combine apple, raisins, (granulated) sugar, cinnamon, the lemon juice and half of the semolina.

11. 11

    Mix well and allow the flavors to blend, stirring occasionally.

12. 12

    Then:.

13. 13

    Butter a 9-inch round springform cake pan, or spray it with a non-stick spray.

14. 14

    Line the pan (bottom and sides) with about 3/4 of the dough - as long as the pan is covered, the layer need not be very thick.

15. 15

    Cover the bottom with the remaining semolina.

16. 16

    Add the filling, but try to leave the juices out.

17. 17

    On a lightly floured surface, roll out the remaining dough until it's less than 1/4 inch (1/2 cm) thick.

18. 18

    Cut the dough into strips and layer them over the apple pie to form a raster, covering no more than one third of the surface--you should be able to see quite a bit of the apple pieces (see picture).

19. 19

    If necessary, use (some of) the remaining dough to make the edges a bit higher.

20. 20

    Use the remaining egg to coat the dough strips.

21. 21

    Bake the pie at 175°C / 340°F, just below the middle of your oven, for about 75 minutes.

22. 22

    If you have any dough left, roll it out, sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon (or left-over apple mixture) and bake it on baking paper for a few minutes.

23. 23

    Remove the springform only *after* the pie has cooled.

24. 24

    Serve warm (reheat in oven or microwave) or cold, with whipped or ice cream, or freeze.