Email to Cat      

Apple Cheesecake Pie

Source of Recipe


From "Apple Pie Perfect" by Ken Haedrich



List of Ingredients



• 1 recipe Best Butter Pie Pastry, refrigerated (recipe follows)
  
• .
  
• -- Apple Filling --
  
• 4 large apples, peeled, cored and thinly sliced
  
• 1/3 cup sugar
  
• 2½ Tbsp all-purpose flour
  
• 1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
  
• .
  
• -- Cheesecake Filling --
  
• 10 ounces cream cheese, softened (do not use lowfat or non-fat)
  
• ½ cup sugar
  
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature
  
• 1/3 cup sour cream (do not use lowfat or non-fat)
  
• ½ tsp pure vanilla extract
  
• 1 tsp grated lemon zest
  
• .
  
• -- Sour Cream Topping --
  
• 1 cup sour cream
  
• 2 Tbsp sugar
  






Instructions



1. Prepare the pastry and refrigerate until it's firm enough to roll, about 1 hour.
   On a sheet of lightly floured waxed paper, roll the pastry into a 13½-inch circle with a floured rolling pin. Invert the pastry over a 9-inch deep-dish pie pan. Center it, then peel off the paper. Gently tuck the pastry down in the pan, without stretching it, and sculpt it into an upstanding ridge. Place the pie shell in the freezer for at least 30 minutes.
   
   
2. Preheat the oven to 400° F.
   To make the apple filling, mix the apples, sugar, flour and lemon juice in a large mixing bowl. Scrape the filling into the pie shell and smooth it with your hands. Place the pie pan on a large, dark baking sheet covered with aluminum foil. Set the pie on the baking sheet on the center oven rack and bake for 30 minutes.
   
   
3. While the pie bakes, make the cheesecake filling. Using an electric mixer, in a large mixing bowl, cream the cream cheese, gradually adding the sugar. Add the eggs, one at a time, blending well but not overbeating; you don't want to beat too much air into the mixture. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. Blend in the sour cream, vanilla and lemon zest; set aside.
   
   
4. After 30 minutes, reduce the oven temperature to 325° F.
   Remove the baking sheet and pie from the oven. Slowly pour the cheesecake filling over the apples, spreading the mixture evenly with the back of a spoon. Put the pie on the baking sheet back in the oven and bake for about 25 minutes more. When the pie is done, the cheesecake layer will have puffed slightly but not too much. Transfer the pie to a cooling rack and let cool for about 30 minutes, long enough for the top to settle down.
   
   
5. To make the sour cream topping, combine the sour cream and sugar in a small saucepan. Stirring over low heat, warm the mixture to only slightly more than body temperature, then immediately pour over the center of the pie, jiggling the pie so the sour cream creeps right up to the pastry. Put the pie back on the cooling rack and let cool to room temperature. Loosely cover the cooled pie with tented aluminum foil, then refrigerate for at least 4 hours, preferably longer, before slicing.
   
   Makes 8 to 10 servings.
   
   ............
   
   BEST BUTTER PIE PASTRY
   
   • 1¾ cups all-purpose flour
   • 1 Tbsp sugar
   • ½ tsp salt
   • ½ cup cold unsalted butter, cut into ¼-inch pieces
   • 1 large egg yolk
   • About 3 Tbsp cold water
   
   Put flour, sugar and salt in a food processor and pulse several times to mix. Remove lid and scatter the butter pieces over the dry ingredients. Pulse the machine repeatedly, six or seven one-second bursts, until the butter is broken into very small pieces.
   
   Place the egg yolk in a one-cup measure and add just enough of the water to equal ¼ cup liquid. Using a fork, blend the water and yolk. Remove the lid of the processor and pour the liquid over the entire surface of the dry ingredients. Pulse the machine again, in short bursts, until the pastry starts to form large clumps. Don't overprocess, or the butter will start to melt rather than stay in small pieces.
   
   Tear off a piece of plastic wrap about 14 inches long and set aside. Empty the crumbs into a large mixing bowl. Using your hands, pack the dough as you would a snowball. Knead the dough two or three times, right in the bowl. Put the dough in the center of the plastic wrap and flatten it into a disk about ¾-inch thick. The edges may crack slightly; just pinch and mold them back into a smooth disk. Wrap the dough in the plastic and refrigerate until firm enough to roll, about one hour.