Swedish Apple Pie

In celebration of Pi(e) Day, a delicious recipe from an unlikely source!

Our youngest got The Official Overwatch Cookbook by Chelsea Monroe-Cassel for Christmas. Monroe-Cassel has many pop culture related cookbooks under her belt, excelling in transforming imaginary food into reality. Some of her cookbook are based on games like The Elder Scrolls, World of Warcraft, Hearthstone, but also TV series and movies like Star Wars, Firefly, Lord of the Rings, and Game of Thrones now have their own cookbooks.

The Overwatch cookbook was published in 2019 by Insight Editions and 29 heroes from the game introduce their “native” treats, festive, comfort food and drinks (which are mostly highly alcoholic!). A fun and informative way to get introduced to cuisines from literally all over the world – and the moon – and I must admit that there are quite some appealing and really over-the-top recipes in there.

In the European section Torbjörn Lindholm’s Swedish legacy is reflected with Kroppkakor (filled and fried potato dumplings), his wife Ingrid’s Apple Pie, as well as Glögg, the nordic glühwein varietal. With Ingrid’s Apple pie, you have a moderatly easy recipe for a typical Swedish cardamon-infused and marzipan-based apple pie.

Cardamon and marzipan are items that you will come across in a lot in Swedish pastries. The Semlor Bun (a fluffy cardamom-infused bun filled with almond paste and whipped cream) is also a true classic and is rightfully included as one of Brigitte’s recipes. Here is picture of a Semlor Bun I had a Stockholm’s fancy department store NK a couple of years ago.

Back to the apple pie: a crunchy crust, a soft and nicely spiced yet sweet apple filling, with texture coming from the sliced almonds. A great dessert or served with a steaming mug of coffee or tea.

Although marzipan may not be widely available, it is fairly easy to make with online recipes. As we all thought that the crumble mix was a tad too sweet, I toned down on the sugar in the recipe below.

The recipe (serves 8)

• 225g / 1½ cups all purpose flour
• 1-2 tbsp Caster sugar
• 110g / 1 stick butter
• 60ml / ¼ cup cold water

1. In a medium-size mixing bowl, rub together the flour, sugar, and butter until you have a coarse mixture without large lumps. Gradually add just enough cold water to bring the dough together, but don’t overwork it. Wrap in plastic and chill for at least 1 hour.
2. Roll out fairly thinly to about 3-5mm / 1/8 – ¼ inch thick and drape the crust over a pan pie. Trim off any excess dough for the lattice cover.

• 4 tart apples, cored, peeled
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp ground allspice
• ½ tsp ground cardamom (or black seeds removed from about 4 pods and ground in mortar and pestle)
• 30g / ¼ cup light brown sugar
• 35g / ¼ cup all-purpose flour
• 50g / ½ cup sliced almonds

1. Slice the apples thinly, no more than ½ cm / ¼ inch thick. In a medium size mixing bowl, toss the apple slices with the spices, sugar, flour and almonds until coated evenly.
2. Spread the apple filling evenly over the pie crust, shaking the dish a bit to get the apple slices settled in.
3. Pre-heat your oven to 190ºC / 375ºF.

• 30g / 2 tbsp unsalted butter, chilled
• 90g / 3oz marzipan
• 75g / ½ cup all-purpose flour
• 30g / ¼ packed light brown sugar

1. In a food processor, pulse together the butter with the marzipan, flour and sugar until you have a even consistency crumbs without large lumps. Sprinkle this mixture over the apple filling.
2. Roll out the remaining pie dough and cut long thin strips and lay them (if possible) in a lattice pattern and brush the crust with a little cream (or egg wash).
3. Bake the apple pie for around 35-40 minutes until the curst is golden and the filling settled. Let it cool for at least 15 minutes before slicing. Serve with whipped cream or a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

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