Autumn is best time for apples and I’m not sure if I’ve ever told you that apple is an all-time favorite fruit of mine. The best way to enjoy an apple is in its raw state, according to my opinion. Every morning I get up, an apple is the first thing I’d bite into – and I do this 365 days per year, literally. I grew up surrounded with belief that “an apple in the morning feels like “gold” for your stomach and an apple in the evening feels like a stone”. I like it sliced up and “seasoned” with some lemon juice, a dash of cinnamon and with a cup of soothing green tea on the side – if that isn’t a great way to start a day! (Of course, that’s not all I’d eat in the morning; it’s merely an “introduction” to my breakfast!)

OK, now that I’ve proclaimed my eternal loyalty to apples, I’d like to tell you about this apple pie I made a couple of days ago. This is my latest version of not-your-usual apple pie: with pastry cream filling. I’m not even sure who invented this combination; for the first time I ate it in Burgos a couple of years ago and I thought it tasted really scrumptious. That pie had a cookie-and-butter base, however here I’ve prepared a sort of sponge cake base with yogurt and grated apple. The result was, as you can imagine, a super moist and deeelicious pie!

Ingredients for a round pan (25cm):

For the pie base:
2 eggs
3 Tbsp all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
180g full-fat plain yogurt (in our case this is equal to 3.2% fat)
3 Tbsp cane sugar
2 small apples
juice of one lemon
a dash of cinnamon
a splash of orange liqueur
also: butter for the pan and 4 small apples, peeled and thinly sliced

For the pastry cream:
1/2l whole milk
2 eggs
1 cinnamon stick
3 green cardamoms
3 cloves
3 Tbsp cane sugar
2 Tbsp flour

1. To make the pastry cream, pour 1/2l milk in a pan, add spices and slowly bring to boil. Let simmer on a very low fire for 15 minutes, then let it stand for some minutes and discard the spices.
2. Beat the two eggs, mix the flour with sugar and combine with the beaten eggs. Pour this mixture to the milk and place the pan back on the stove. Heat it slowly while stirring constantly with a whisk. The mixture will start thickening. Do not let it boil. When thick enough, your pastry cream is ready. If not using it right away, cover it with a cling film or aluminum foil and keep it in the fridge for a few days.
3. To make the batter, beat the eggs with sugar, add yogurt, cinnamon and orange liqueur. Peel and grate 2 small apples and mix them with lemon juice, then add to the egg mixture.
4. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour and baking powder. Combine the flour with egg-apple mixture. Pour the batter in a buttered pan and transfer to the oven (180ºC). Bake for 20-25 minutes or until almost set.
5. Take it out of the oven and cover evenly with the pastry cream (I didn’t use all of it) and decorate with thin apple slices. Place back in the oven and bake for additional 15 minutes.
6. Let the pie cool before slicing. It keeps well in the fridge (in case you’ll have leftovers), covered.