Secret Ingredient for Fall Baking: Boiled Cider

Apple Pie Contest at !BANG! BANG Pie Shop in Logan Square, Chicago 

Just about three years ago I won a pie contest.

Yep. I did. Seriously. I still don't know what made me go to the trouble of entering, especially since I had never made a pie from scratch (i.e. homemade pie dough) before.  The contest was held outside on what turned out to be quite a cold October day.  I made Paul, my dear friend Amanda and then-9-month-old Emmett hang out outside for HOURS while deliberations were underway. Third, I won. The whole thing. I still can’t believe it. As nerdy as it sounds, and is, it was exhilarating! More so because of the shock.  When they announced my name just after the first runner up it was as if everything was moving in slow motion and Chariots of Fire was playing in the background. I WISH I was kidding, but it’s true. It was amazing.

The big moment. Proud winner of a $50 gift certificate and bragging rights. 

Nerdy in more than just my exhilaration at winning, I’m also a nerd in the kitchen, and competitive at that. So if I’m going to enter a contest, I want to win. As unlikely as it was that I could, I definitely tried my best.  The contest was for the best apple pie so the only limitation was that it had to be apple. I researched apple pie recipes at length as well as how to make the best pie dough. I made my pie dough the weekend before – so I wouldn’t feel rushed on the day of the contest – and even invested in the peeler, corer, slicer that still gets a lot of use during apple season. 

I can't believe Emmett was ever this small.

My research led me to an interesting ingredient, one that I had never heard of before. Boiled Cider.  By the time I discovered it, it was too late for me to order it online and I didn’t know where to buy it in person. I decided to make it myself. As it turns out, boiled cider is hardly something you have to “make” at all.  It’s just as the name would lead you to believe – Boiled. Cider. And the directions are as follows: put a gallon (or more) of apple cider in a large pot and boil it until it becomes the consistency of maple syrup.

That’s it.

It does take a few hours but very little of it is active time. You just have to watch it as you get to the very end and it is becoming syrupy so you can take it off the stove before it becomes too thick. Once it’s ready, add a tablespoon to your pie filling to give it that extra “Apple-y” flavor.  You can use it in pancakes, cakes, and all kinds of savory dishes as well. I like to put a little in a salad dressing that I make with Dijon mustard and cider vinegar, or in pan sauce for chicken thighs or pork chops. Ever since I first made it three years ago, I’ve kept some in my refrigerator - where it stays good for months and months.

One gallon of cider in a large pot. 

Here's what it looks like about 3 hours later. Glossy with the consistency of syrup.

Boiled cider. Oh yeah, did I mention it goes great on top of ice cream? Or in place of pancake syrup? 

And now you know the secret to my “award winning” apple pie. Because there should be no secrets in delicious. 

Irish Country Cooking: Recipes from the Irish Countrywoman’s Association

I’m loving this cookbook.  It’s a collection of recipes from members of the Irish Countrywomen’s Association. The photos are beautiful and the recipes are both interesting and approachable. Each recipe includes a little blurb about the recipe and how it came to be.  My favorite part is the one sentence description of each contributor.  Stuff like “Golf-mad grandmother of 12” or “Volunteer and busy mum of three”.  My personal favorite is “Hill-walking granny and expert patchworker”.  The recipe I used today was from Margaret O’Reilly of County Cork, “Prize-winning maker of Carrickmacross lace”.

Now that it’s October and the weather seems to have turned, it really feels like Fall. Maybe that’s why I bought a huge bag of apples the other day. Apples. Just what you need when you want to make a simple, comforting, fall dessert.  I needed to make something easy, preferably something you could throw together while holding a baby. Rolling out pie dough was out.  An apple crumble was in order.

I chose the one in this book because it was different from any apple crumble recipe I’ve made before. The apple crumble recipes I’ve tried in the past all call for a streusel topping made with flour, sugar, warm spices and cold butter that you sprinkle on top of apples that have been tossed with sugar and lemon juice, sort of like a crustless streusel-topped pie. This was totally different. Toasted breadcrumbs, ground almonds, lemon zest, brown sugar and golden syrup with no warm spices, or any spices, to be found. Plus, the topping was cooked on the stovetop prior to baking and everything was layered in the pan - apples, topping, apples, topping - lasagna style. The recipe also called for blackberries, which I didn’t have. Still, the result was delicious. Simple. Clean. Extra “appley” without those spices for vying with the fruit for attention. The lemon zest complemented the sweetness of the apples without taking over. It also felt sweet and indulgent without being heavy.  No guilt in eating this on top of yogurt or oats for breakfast.

A few years ago I bought this apple corer, peeler, slicer, which is one of the few uni-taskers allowed in my kitchen. I’m so glad I have it.  This was Emmett’s first time using it and he thoroughly enjoyed the experience. Isla was able to use it too (little miss “anything you can do I can do better” - she’s a competitive little bugger).  They made quick work of 4 apples.

I’ll be honest, I didn’t measure, again. So the amounts below are just estimates. I’m just not big on measuring unless I absolutely have to. But I’ve outlined the ingredients and basic process below.

This golden syrup is available at the boutique and has so many uses. 

Apple Crumble

Recipe adapted from Irish Country Cooking

2-3 tablespoons Butter

1 cup Breadcrumbs

2 tablespoons Brown sugar

2 oz Golden Syrup

Zest and juice of one lemon

pinch of salt

2oz Ground almonds

2 oz Sliced almonds

4 apples, cored, peeled and sliced

Preheat oven to 350F.  

Spray a pie pan or other baking dish with cooking spray or coat with butter.  

Melt butter in a large skillet and toast breadcrumbs for about 5 minutes, until they are light brown and smell toasted.

Place golden syrup, lemon juice and zest, salt and sugar in a small saucepan and heat over low heat.

Once breadcrumbs are toasted, add them to sugar mixture, then add ground almonds and sliced almonds and stir.

Layer 2 apples in the pan and top with one half of the topping mixture.

Layer the remaining apples on top and top with the remaining sugar-breadcrumb mixture.

Place in oven. After 20 minutes, check the crumble and place foil loosely over the top if it is browning too fast (this is important, I almost didn’t check mine in time and it was very brown by the time I covered it).  

Cook for another 20-25 minutes or until apples are soft and bubbling. Remove from oven and allow to cool slightly. Serve with ice cream, whipped cream or custard.  

Melt butter for toasting breadcrumbs, Irish butter if you have it. 

Breadcrumbs and nuts are combined with warm sugar, syrup, lemon juice mixture.

Layer apples and topping in the pan. 

Ready to bake.

I ate this as an afternoon snack - plain with some coffee.  The next evening we had it after dinner with custard and tea. 

Sour Cherry Slab Pie

My kids associate cherries with their Grandpa Paddy because he always has some in his kitchen or brings some when he comes over for dinner.  He's willing to pay the premium when, at the very beginning of cherry season, none of the stores have them on sale.  And he buys them right up until we stop seeing them at the market here in Chicago. Maybe it's just my father-in-law, but I have the distinct impression that the Irish love cherries. For one thing, cherries grow in Ireland, which, like the area where we live, is plagued with a short or non-existent growing season for many types of fruit. Sour cherries appear in our farmer’s market one week and seem to be gone the next.  Just like garlic scapes, they are one of summer’s special and fleeting gifts that I like to stock up on and squirrel away for the rest of the year.

This year I bought a whole bunch of sour cherries and froze them all. Since they are great for baking I didn’t even feel bad about not being prepared to do something with them as soon as I brought them home. I hate that feeling - too much pressure. You do not need to be pressured by your produce.

A week or so later, my brother and his girlfriend were visiting so I thought a pie was in order. I think I can safely say that a few years ago I hadn’t even heard of slab pie. I definitely didn’t grow up with them. But lately, I’ve been seeing them everywhere. Pie is great because technically, it’s baking, but it’s also a lot more like cooking than other kinds of baking. You can play a little fast and loose with amounts and really, you should, since it all depends on how sweet and juicy your fruit is, how deep your pie pan is, what type of crust(s) you are using. Slab pie is just like any other pie except that the ratio of crust-to-fruit favors the crust-lover in you. You can feed a crowd with one and skip the plates, as a slab can easily be eaten out of hand.  Below is the recipe I used. I’m a believer.

My brother and Isla (looking as if she knows he's about to do or say something funny). 

Sour Cherry Slab Pie

Enough for one slab pie baked on a quarter sheet pan (about 9” by 13”).  

Serves 10-12.

One recipe of your favorite pie dough – enough for a double crust pie.  I use this one. Or store-bought pie crusts.

5 cups sour cherries, pitted (fresh or frozen; if frozen, defrost and drain first)

1 cup of sugar

1/6 - 1/4 cup cornstarch

Juice of half a lemon

Pinch or two of salt

One egg, beaten with a tablespoon of water

Coarse sugar for sprinkling

I used cherries from the farmer’s market that I had previously pitted and frozen (Whole Foods also carries frozen cherries so you can make this any time of year, just reduce the sugar if you can only find sweet cherries).  I let them defrost in the refrigerator overnight and took them out to drain in a colander while I worked with the dough.

I got my cherries from a grower in Michigan who gave me the best tip. Place cherries in a bowl of ice water for at least 40 minutes before pitting them.  When they are very, very cold, they are much easier to pit. I implore you to try this.  Staring down a huge pile of cherries that need pitting can be daunting.  An ice water bath makes prepping them so much quicker and easier. 

Roll out pie dough for the bottom crust on a lightly floured surface. Try to work quickly so that everything stays cold.  Don’t worry about it looking perfect.  Overworked dough will be tough instead of flaky so just do the best you can.  Rolling the dough between two pieces of wax paper or plastic wrap makes things easier, less messy, and it prevents the incorporation of too much extra flour from your work surface that can also impact taste and texture of the dough.  Once the dough is rolled out in a rectangle that fits the sheet pan, transfer it either straight to the pan or line the pan with parchment paper (I didn’t bother lining mine) and then place the dough in, pushing it down into the corners and up the sides of the pan.  Leave the dough-lined pan in the freezer while you finishing preparing the filling.

Place your drained cherries in a large bowl and add the sugar, lemon juice, cornstarch and salt.  Mix to combine and set aside. 

Roll out the top crust to about 1/8 inch thickness and cut into strips.

Pull your sheet pan out, pour your filling in and working quickly add the strips in a lattice pattern to the top.  As you can see, mine came out looking “rustic” so I’m obviously not the expert in how to make a lattice crust.  If you want yours to look flawless, there are tons of tutorials with great photos on the web. For the record, I still thought mine was a beauty and my family was kind enough not to diss my latticework.

Now, put the whole pie back in the freezer for 20 minutes and preheat your oven to 375F.  Once your oven is hot and your pie is nice and cold, take it out of the freezer, brush the crust with egg wash, sprinkle with coarse sugar and place on a larger sheet pan (to catch any bubbling juices that may overflow) and bake for about 45 minutes (start checking at 40 minutes).  Remove from the oven when the filling is bubbling and the crust is nice and golden brown.    

My egg-washed pie entering the oven.