Rich cream and ripe apples are married with two forms of spicy ginger: powdered for a little zip in the crust, and candied in the filling for warm spice in every bite.
To make the crust: In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, ground ginger, and sugar. Work in the butter, leaving some dime-sized chunks intact. Drizzle in the ice water while stirring with a fork until the mixture feels damp to the touch and holds itself together when gently squeezed. Transfer clumps of dough to a piece of parchment; bring any dry bits left in the bowl together with a little more ice water and add to the pile on the paper.
Using the parchment, fold the dough over on itself until it comes together. Divide the dough 60/40, form each piece into a disk, then wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes while you prepare the filling.
To make the filling: Place the apples and 1/2 cup (99g) of the sugar in a large, deep skillet, stirring to coat the apples. Cover the skillet and cook over medium-low heat for 10 minutes.
Remove the cover, increase the heat to medium, and cook for 20 to 25 minutes, stirring frequently, until most of the liquid evaporates. Remove the pan from the heat and transfer the apples to a large mixing bowl. Let cool to lukewarm, then stir in the rest of the sugar and the remaining filling ingredients.
Put a baking stone or steel in the lower third of the oven and preheat to 425°F.
To assemble: Remove the dough from the refrigerator and roll the larger disk into a 13 ̋ circle. Transfer to a 9 ̋ deep-dish pie pan and trim the edges. Fill with the apple mixture.
Roll the second disk of dough and use it to top the pie, either with a lattice or with pastry cutouts in the shape of your choice. Crimp the edge.
Brush the top of the pie with milk or cream and sprinkle with coarse sugar.
Place the pie on a baking sheet and bake on the hot stone for 15 minutes. Reduce the heat to 350°F and move the pie up one rack off the stone; bake for an additional 40 to 45 minutes, until the filling bubbles in the center. Remove from the oven and let cool completely before serving.
Store any leftover pie in the refrigerator, covered, for up to one week.
Want to make the crust using your food processor? First, place your butter in the freezer to chill; it should be rock solid. In the bowl of a food processor equipped with the steel blade, combine the flour, salt, ginger and sugar, or whisk the ingredients together in a bowl. Using a coarse shredding disk, shred the frozen butter into the flour mixture. Switching back to the steel blade, combine the shredded butter and flour. With the machine going, drizzle in water, until the dough just starts to hold together. Remove the dough from the processor, shape it into a flattened ball, and let it rest in the refrigerator while you prepare the filling.
Let King Arthur's pastry pros show you how to bake your best pie ever: from flaky crust to perfect filling, we can help! Check out our Pie Baking Guide now.
Flour, cornstarch, tapioca, ClearJel… how much thickener should you use? For a practical look at all the options, see our Fruit Pie Thickeners Guide.
