In late summer, Sonoma County’s Gravensteins ripen, perfect for baking
I adore baking, and I particularly love baking pies. There’s just something gorgeous and magical about them.
Growing up, my mom and I were often in the kitchen baking, and our favorite thing to bake together was pie. Any-kind-of-fruit pie, whatever was in season, fragrant, ripe and full of flavor. Summer was the best because there were so many options: peaches and nectarines, cherries, berries, even plums and apricots. But come late summer, we’d start seeing just-picked apples in the farmers’ markets.
Apple pies are near and dear to my heart, plain or mixed with another fruit like wild blackberries. And every Thanksgiving, for as long as I can remember, my mom and I have baked an apple pie, along with the requisite pumpkin pie. When I was a kid, it was made especially for my beloved grandmother, Mimi, because it was her favorite. I still always bake an apple pie for her, even though she’s long gone, because it’s become our family tradition.
But apple pies - and baking with apples in general - aren’t only for pie contests and holidays. Apples are great anytime, and the best part is that you can almost always find some variety of baking apples in the market year-round.
The first step in baking with apples is selecting the right one. Finding local apples that are in season is great - you’ll introduce a lot more flavor and personality into your baked goods - especially if you can get your hands on lovely, versatile Gravensteins. Our local Sonoma County beauties ripen at the end of July, just in time for the Gravenstein Apple Fair in Sebastopol, happening this weekend (Aug. 11-12). Gravensteins have a fairly short-lived season (so get them while you can). Their tart-sweet flavor and crispness make them terrific for eating out of hand, baking or even spinning into applesauce.
When you can’t find Gravensteins, there are plenty of other apples out there that are great for baking: Honeycrisp, Pink Lady (also calls Cripps Pink), Gala, Jonagold and Braeburn are all excellent, as is the ubiquitous Granny Smith. Look for crisp, tart-sweet fruits that hold their shape during baking and don’t break down into mush.
Pies are probably the first item that comes to mind when baking with apples, but apples can shine in all kinds of baked goods, including sugar-dusted turnovers; rustic, free-form galettes; whiskey-spiked cakes; and custardy tarts, to name but a few.
They are amazing dusted with cinnamon and topped with a crunchy streusel or pillowy biscuits, and fantastic even just baked with a little sugar and spice and finished off with a dollop of whipped cream.
Of course, they can also be served up in savory dishes, such as chutneys alongside pork chops or braised in sauerkraut with tender pork shoulder (a great New Year’s Day dish).
Whether you bake for a contest or not, you’ll find a variety of creations at the fair and can sample loads of other apple-y dishes, like the scrumptious Native American-inspired apple shortcakes that will make their first appearance at this year’s fair (recipe below).
Chef Clint McKay of Papa’s Shack turns out these sweet delicacies with a base of crisp fry bread, topped with buttery spiced apples and whipped cream.
See you at the fair!
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This juicy, fragrant pie is all about the freshness of the filling. Make the dough up to a day in advance.
And feel free to play around with it: the sweetness and juiciness of a pie is really a personal preference, so add more or less sugar, or use all white or all brown sugar if you like.
Toss in 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon if you like a little spice in your pie. And for an all-apple pie, just leave out the blackberries and use 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour instead of the tapioca starch.
Sebastopol Gravenstein and Wild Blackberry Pie
Makes 1 pie
For the crust:
2½ cups all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon kosher salt
2 tablespoon granulated sugar
¾ cup plus 2 tablespoons (7 ounces) very cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes
10 tablespoons ice cold water, plus more if needed
For the filling:
3 pounds Gravenstein apples, peeled, cored, and cut into wedges about 1/4-inch thick
- Juice of ½ small lemon
¾ cup packed golden brown sugar
¼ cup granulated sugar
¼ cup (packed) tapioca starch
- About 2 cups fresh blackberries (12 ounces)
1 egg, beaten with 1 teaspoon water
1-2 tablespoons raw sugar, for sprinkling
- Vanilla ice cream or lightly sweetened whipped cream, for serving
To make the crust, in the bowl of a food processor, process together the flour, salt and sugar.
Sprinkle the butter over the top and pulse a few times, just until the butter is the size of large peas.
Evenly sprinkle the water over the flour mixture, then process just until the mixture just starts to come together (add another 1 tablespoon if needed to bring it together).
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