SEBRINGVILLE SCHNITZ APPLE PIE

There are plenty of recipes for Dutch apple pie also known as schnitz pie, but none better than this one, with thick apple wedges drizzled with cream and nestled under a sugar and butter crumble. Back in the 1930s, following the respected practice of recipe-sharing, Mary Sinclair of Sebringville, Ont., passed on her excellent schnitz pie recipe to her friend, my mother, Olive Davis.

Flaky Pastry (recipe follows)

1½ lbs (750 g) apples, Northern Spy, Cortland or Golden Delicious, (4 to 6)

⅔ cup (150 mL) packed light brown sugar

2 tbsp (30 mL) all-purpose flour

3 tbsp (45 mL) soft butter

¼ cup (60 mL) whipping cream

½ tsp (2 mL) grated nutmeg or ground cinnamon

1 Arrange oven rack at bottom third of oven. Preheat oven to 425°F (220°C).

2 On a floured surface, roll pastry to a 13-inch (33-cm) round, a scant ¼ inch (5 mm) thick. Ease pastry into the pie plate without stretching. Trim pastry ½ inch (1 cm) from edge of rim and tuck overhang under pastry on rim. Press gently and flute. Refrigerate while preparing filling.

3 Peel, core and cut apples into ¾-inch (2-cm) wedges. Arrange wedges snugly in pie shell, slicing the last few so all fit into the shell. Apples will shrink as pie bakes.

4 In a small bowl, use a fork to combine sugar and flour; then work in butter until mixture is crumbly. Sprinkle over apples; drizzle cream evenly overtop and dust with nutmeg.

5 Bake for 15 minutes; reduce heat to 350°F (180°C) and bake until filling is bubbling and apples tender, about 45 minutes. Check at the half hour and if the pastry is already golden, shield pastry on rim with strips of foil.

6 Let pie cool on rack. It’s ideal to serve it while still a little warm, about 4 hours after it exits the oven.

Makes 6 to 8 servings