Caramel Apricot Pie
MAKES
One 9 inch / 23 cm pie
TAKES
Prep time: 30 minutes
Cook time: 50 minutes
Total: 1 hour 20 minutes
✻ ABOUT THIS RECIPE
Caramel isn’t only for apples – I love it as a flavor addition in nearly any fruit pie. This version, spiked with honey, pairs beautifully with apricots. Even when they aren’t ripe, apricots tend to break down a lot when they bake - so I like to leave them in fat wedges, piled into the pie crust. The caramel poaches the fruit as the pie bakes, and both components infuse the other with a beautiful flavor to make a particularly delectable filling.
INGREDIENTS
One recipe Extra Flaky All Buttah Pie Dough, Par-Baked + cooled completely
820 g / 1 3/4 pounds (about 10 medium) apricots, pitted and quartered
30 g / ¼ cup all purpose flour
99 g / ½ cup granulated sugar
64 g / 3 tablespoons wildflower honey
42 g / 3 tablespoons water
43 g / 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into ½ inch / 1 cm cubes
2 g / ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
5 g / 1 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 g / ¼ teaspoon almond extract
Never Par-Baked? Never Fear!
METHOD
1. Preheat the oven to 400°F / 205°C, with rack in the lower third of the oven (preferably with a baking steel or stone on the oven rack). In a medium bowl, toss the apricots with the flour to coat. Arrange the apricots, skin side down so that one of the ends of the apricots sits upward. Arrange the pieces in tight concentric circles inside the pie crust. Really pack them in tightly – if you think they won’t all fit, push them in even closer – overlapping is a-ok!
2. In a medium pot, combine the sugar, honey, and water. Bring the mixture to a simmer over medium low heat – stir the mixture until it comes to a simmer, but once it begins to bubble, stop stirring.
3. Cook the mixture, occasionally swirling the pot (but do not stir!), until it becomes lightly amber in color. At this point, watch it closely – it will start to move more quickly. Cook it to a medium amber color. Remove the pot from the heat, and immediately stir in the butter, salt, vanilla, and almond extracts.
4. Let the mixture cool for 5 minutes, then carefully spoon the mixture over the apricots as evenly as possible. If the caramel has firmed up, just leave clumps or pieces of it over the surface of the pie – it will melt into the filling in the oven.
5. Transfer the pie to the oven (on top of the steel/stone, if using). Bake for 20 minutes, then remove the pie from the oven, and dip a pastry brush into the melted caramel filling, and brush it over the apricots.
6. Return to the oven and continue to bake until the crust is deeply golden brown and the apricots are tender, 25-30 minutes more. If the pie starts to darken too quickly, you can tent it with foil for the remainder of baking. - it’s ok if the tips of the apricots brown deeply and caramelize.
7. Let the pie cool completely before slicing and serving.
NOTES
For a special presentation, arrange the fruit slices in concentric circles for a flower sort of effect.
✻ HAVE YOU BAKED IT?
Tag @emcdowell on Instagram or use #happybaking. I’d love to see your bakes!
