Swedish Apple Pie (Äppelpaj) with Classic Whipped Cream
Just how Swedish is my family? We’re Swedish enough that my mother could remember as a little girl hearing Swedish spoken by one of her eldest relatives. That, and we have an undying love of coffee, whipped cream, and this particular recipe for apple pie, rescued from some old Swedish cookbook, and resurfaced by Carol and Tom.
Prep the recipe alongside dinner, place the batter-covered apples in the oven when dinner is served, and you’ll have a cozy, warm dessert for afterward. Make the whipped cream right before serving the pie; it gives everyone a chance to sit and digest a little. If you forgot to chill the mixing bowl ahead of time, just make some coffee. People will gladly wait once they smell that coffee brewing. ☕️
I adapted the recipe below from the excellent book The Baker’s Appendix, by Jessica Reed (of The Cake Historian fame).
I’ve made Swedish apple pie with and without nuts; both are good. You can add liqueur to the whipped cream, but make sure to add more confectioners’ sugar along with it (or it will end up surprisingly bitter).
I happen to love using deep-dish ramekins, rather than a single pie platter. I found mine at IKEA (so very apropos). These yield wonderful little pies, so you can go “halfesies” with friends … or just have one all to yourself.
The original recipe calls for a full cup of sugar, which we found too sweet. Cutting that in half gives it a shortbread flavor. The “sweet spot” seems to be 3/4 cups of sugar, giving the crust a texture and flavor of sugar cookies or snickerdoodles.
