Makes One 9” Deep Dish Pie
½ Recipe Pate Sucre
4 Large Honey Crisp Apples, Peeled, Cored and Sliced Thin, About 1/8” Thick
3 Large Bartlett Pears, Ripe But Not Soft, Peeled, Cored and Sliced Thin, About 1/8” Thick
1 Cup Granulated Sugar
¼ Cup All-Purpose Flour
¼ Cup Corn Starch
1 Teaspoon Fine Sea Salt
1 Teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
½ Teaspoon Freshly Grated Nutmeg
2 Teaspoons Vitamin C Powder, Optionsl (VC Powder keeps the apples from turning brown. I do not like to use lemon as it changes the flavor and the texture of the fruit)
2 Tablespoons Cold Unsalted Butter Cut into Small Pieces
1 Recipe Crumb Topping
Coarse Sanding Sugar for Pie Topping
Preheat oven to 425°F. Place the oven rack in the lower third of the oven.
In a large bowl combine the apples, pears, sugar, flour, cornstarch, sea salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and vitamin C powder. Toss until well combined. Set aside.
On a lightly floured surface, roll out one disk of pate sucre into a 11” to 12” circle approximately 1/8” thick. When rolling, add a little flour to the top of the pastry so the rolling pin won’t stick. To make an evenly round circle when rolling make a quarter turn with the pastry. In other words, give a few rolls over the pastry, lift the pastry off of the rolling surface and turn it to the right 90 degrees. Do that three times while rolling and you will have a perfect circle. Gently roll the pastry up onto the rolling pin and lift over the top of a 9” deep-dish pie dish and roll out. Gently press into the pie dish and decoratively crimp the edges all around.
Place the apple-pear pie mixture into the pastry-lined dish, evenly distributing the apples and pears. This will allow for more even cooking. Pour any juices that may be in the bottom of the bowl over the top of the apple-pear mixture. Dot the filling with the 2 tablespoons of cold butter pieces.
Evenly distribute the crumb topping over the pie being sure to cover the whole top of the pie. Make a small hole on the top of the crumb topping. This will allow steam to escape. Sprinkle with sugar.
Place the pie on a sheet pan with holes (such as a pizza pan) lined with parchment paper. Bake the pie for 15 minutes and turn down the oven temperature to 375°. Bake the pie for 1 hour more or until the top is nicely browned and the juices are bubbling. Rotate the pie halfway through the cooking time. You will see some of the juice leek out of the pie on the side. If the top and crust begin to brown too quickly gently lay a piece of foil on top. Make a hole at the top of the foil for the escaping steam. To be sure the apples and pears are cooked, insert a skewer into the vent at the top of the pie. There should be no resistance when the skewer goes through the apples.
Remove the beautiful pie from the oven to a wire cooling rack and let the pie cool completely before serving. I like to serve this pie with Caramel Sauce and Cinnamon Ice Cream or Gelato.
