Name: Dutch Apple Pie (Appeltaart)
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 60 min
Total time: 90 min
Ingredients: ⅔ cup unsalted butter (room temperature); ⅔ cup granulated sugar; 1 large egg (room temperature); 1 teaspoon vanilla extract; 1 ¾ cup all-purpose flour; 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder; ½ teaspoon sea salt; 8 large apples (cored and sliced into ¼ in. (6mm) slices, optionally peeled); ⅓ cup plus 2 teaspoons granulated sugar; 2 tablespoons cornstarch; 3 teaspoons cinnamon; ⅔ cup all-purpose flour; ½ cup granulated sugar; ⅓ cup butter (room temperature)

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Dutch apple pie is quite different from North American apple pie, in a good way! The base is made from a soft press-in pastry (no chilling needed), the filling is an extraordinary amount of apples - think deep-dish - and it's topped off with a sweet crumble. The result is a softer take on pie and it's a great way to use fall apples.

Slice of apple pie with a scoop of ice cream on top.

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Recipe Rundown: Dutch Apple Pie

Prep Time
30 minutes

Bake Time
60 minutes

Total Time
1.5 hours

Servings
10 pieces

Difficulty
Intermediate

Calories
519 kcal*

Primary Ingredients
All-purpose flour, apples, sugar, cinnamon, baking powder, butter, and an egg.

*Calories are an estimation.

How This Recipe Works

Woman smiling, with long brown hair in a dark brown shirt.

I lived in The Netherlands for several years and visit every year - and when I do, I always get a piece of Dutch apple pie or an appeltaartje (an individual tart). There's some confusion about whether it should be called a pie or a tart in English, but it is very similar to what North Americans think of as apple pie with some notable differences.

Dutch apple pie uses a different type of pastry, with baking powder added. It's much softer than pie crust, with a light texture, and can be easily pressed in to the baking dish rather than rolled out. Some recipes (in Dutch) will call for it to be rolled but it is generally too soft to easily do so. The filling is essentially the same as you'll see for deep-dish apple pie. The topping is usually streusel, sometimes a lattice, and occasionally with oats - that's more at eco cafés or shops.

The pie is baked in a springform pan, not a pie dish. If you try to make this in a pie dish you'll see very quickly that you don't have enough space, and if you do manage to bake a smaller version in a pie dish, you'll be disappointed when trying to lift the slices out. The result is a deep, apple-packed tart with a slightly soft, tender crust and crisp crumble topping. It's excellent.

Ingredients You'll Need and Why

There are two major differences here between what you'd use for a standard apple pie versus a Dutch apple pie: baking powder, and an egg. The ratios are different but the basic ingredients are pretty much the same. These are our notes from recipe testing. You can find the full recipe card below with complete measurements and instructions.

Dutch apple pie ingredients with labels.

Apples: use tart baking apples that hold their shape well after baking. My personal preference is for Boskoop (a Dutch apple variety!) but it can be hard to find outside of orchards and farmer's markets. Honeycrisp is a good grocery store alternative.
Butter: use unsalted butter, at room temperature. If you only have salted butter, reduce the amount of salt added to the dry ingredients. I tested with a vegan butter alternative and the pastry was too soft.
Baking powder: some baking powder makes the pastry more cake-like than what you might think of for a pie. Don't use baking soda, which will lend a metallic flavour.
Flour: this should be plain all-purpose flour. Cake flour makes the dough too delicate and soft. We haven't tried with whole wheat or gluten-free alternatives.
Sugar: granulated white sugar. Keep in mind that sugar is a liquid in baking, and reducing it will lead to a dry, dense pie.
Egg: an egg in the dough adds structure and flavour. If you leave out the egg, the pastry tends to slump when baking.
Cinnamon: there's quite a bit of cinnamon in the apple mixture. If you don't like cinnamon, try half the amount of nutmeg or cardamom instead.
Starch: corn starch acts as a thickening agent for the apple mixture, meaning you can get clean slices of pie and a better overall texture.

Use the JUMP TO RECIPE button at the top, or scroll to the bottom of the post to see the printable recipe card with full ingredient measurements and complete instructions.

How to Make Dutch Apple Pie

The pastry is more like a very thick cake batter than what you might usually associate with pie dough, almost like a sugar cookie dough. The version photographed here was with the optional added oats (outlined in the recipe card).

Pie steps 1 to 4, creamed butter, with sugar, finished pastry, pressed into the tin.

Step 1: beat the butter and sugar together until lighter in colour and consistency, 2 to 3 minutes. You're not trying to incorporate a lot of air into the dough by doing this, not fully creaming the mixture, just mixing well.

Step 2: beat the egg into the mixture to incorporate. If your eggs are cold, submerge the egg in a bowl of warm water 10 minutes before starting the pie.

Related: German Apple Cake

Step 3: mix in the dry ingredients to form a fairly stiff dough, very similar to sugar cookie dough but softer than pie dough. It should easily hold its shape when pressed but is too soft to roll out with a rolling pin.

Step 4: divide the dough into two equal pieces and grease and line a springform pan. Press one half of the dough into the bottom of the pan, then the other half around the sides of the pan, going right to the top.

You might notice some parchment paper sticking out the edges of the springform pan - I don't bother cutting it into a round when baking with a springform, and just clamp it in place.

Tart steps 5 to 8, crumble mixed, apples added, before and after baking.

Step 5: make the streusel topping. Mix the flour, sugar, and butter until a crumble forms. This version uses room temperature butter.

Step 6: core and slice the apples (optionally peel, see below) and mix with the sugar, cinnamon, and starch. Transfer to the pastry and gently rearrange if needed so that the apples fit easily into the pan.

Related: Apple Rhubarb Pie

Step 7: top with the streusel in an even layer, trying to cover the apples completely. Any apple pieces that are really sticking up will burn during baking. Keep them in a flat layer to avoid this.

Step 8: bake until lightly golden, then cool completely before slicing and serving. Cool fully in the pan before carefully removing the sides. You can carefully remove the pie from the springform base once cooled - the parchment paper makes it easy to slide off and on to a serving plate.

Expert Tips for the Best Pie

Peel, or don't: whether the apples should be peeled or not is up for debate, and you should do what you prefer. I very rarely peel apples for baking. One of my taste testers, out of nine total, noticed that the apples weren't peeled. If you're using an apple with very tough skin, like granny smith, then definitely peel first.
Stick to springform: this is almost impossible to lift out of a standard cake pan. You really do need a springform pan for Dutch apple pie.
Optionally add oats: the streusel topping can be made with oats, and that's how you'll sometimes see it in The Netherlands. It adds a pleasant texture and slightly nuttier flavour, if you like oats.
Cool fully before serving: like any pie, it's best too cool this completely before slicing and serving. That gives the apple filling enough time to set, for clean, sturdy slices.
Check for sticking: if any streusel is touching the sides of the pan after baking, it might stick. If the sides aren't easily releasing then gently run a butter knife around the edges of the pie to help facilitate it.