Are you ready to bake a truly magnificent, restaurant-quality apple pie that will be the undisputed showstopper of any dessert table? A pie so impressive, so deeply flavorful, and so perfectly constructed that your guests will be in absolute awe? This Ultimate Caramel Apple Pie, with its flaky, all-butter crust and a unique, sophisticated red wine caramel sauce, is that legendary dessert.
This isn’t just another apple pie recipe; it’s a masterclass in classic pastry techniques. We’ll guide you through the simple secrets to a perfect, from-scratch crust, and show you how to create a stunning, “meaty” apple pie with no dreaded gap between the filling and the top crust. The real star, however, is the homemade caramel, enriched with red wine for an incredible depth of flavor. This is a rewarding baking project that will make you feel like a true pastry chef.
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Recipe Overview: A Restaurant-Quality Masterpiece
What makes this Caramel Apple Pie truly “the ultimate” version is its commitment to sophisticated, flavor-building techniques. The filling is a masterpiece of construction: paper-thin slices of apple are carefully layered with a homemade, deeply flavorful red wine caramel sauce. This method eliminates the dreaded air gap under the top crust and creates a dense, solid, and completely sliceable pie. Paired with a rich, from-scratch, all-butter crust, this is a dessert that is worth every moment of effort.
| Metric | Time / Level |
| Total Time | 4 hours (includes chilling and cooling) |
| Active Prep Time | 1 hour |
| Difficulty Level | Intermediate |
| Servings | 8-10 slices |
Your Holiday Baking Game Plan (Make-Ahead Schedule)
The secret to this seemingly complex dessert is to make it in easy, manageable stages.
- Up to 3 Days Ahead: Make the red wine caramel sauce. Let it cool completely and store it in an airtight jar in the refrigerator.
- Up to 2 Days Ahead: Make the flaky pie crust, wrap the two discs tightly, and store them in the refrigerator.
- 1 Day Before Serving: You can assemble the entire, unbaked pie, cover it tightly, and store it in the refrigerator.
- On Serving Day: Let the assembled pie sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes, then brush it with the egg wash and bake it fresh so your home is filled with the most incredible aroma!
The Essential Ingredients for This Gourmet Pie
This recipe is built from two perfect, from-scratch components.
- The All-Butter Pie Pastry (Pâte Brisée): A rich, flaky, and incredibly flavorful foundation.
- Cold Unsalted Butter: The absolute key to a flaky crust. It is crucial that your butter is very cold and cut into small pieces. These cold pieces of butter will create steam as the pie bakes, which is what creates all those beautiful, flaky layers.
- The Binders: An egg yolk adds richness and tenderness to the dough, while a touch of ice water helps to bind everything together while keeping the butter cold.
- The Caramel Apple Filling:
- The Apples: For the best pie with a complex flavor and a texture that is tender but not mushy, it’s essential to use a mix of different firm baking apples. This recipe’s combination of a firm-tart apple like Granny Smith and a firm-sweet apple like Gala is a perfect choice.
- The Red Wine Caramel Sauce: This is the unique and sophisticated heart of the pie. A classic wet caramel is enriched with heavy cream and a fruity red wine, which adds a wonderful acidity and complexity that cuts through the sweetness. A real vanilla bean adds an incredible, aromatic flavor.
Step-by-Step to The Ultimate Apple Pie
Let’s break this incredible project down into simple, manageable parts.
Part 1: The All-Butter Pie Pastry
Step 1: In a large bowl, combine the 3 cups of all-purpose flour and the 1 teaspoon of salt.
Step 2: Add in the 1 1/2 sticks of cold, cubed butter. Using a pastry blender or your fingertips, quickly “cut” the fat into the flour until the mixture resembles coarse cornmeal with some pea-sized pieces of butter still visible.
Step 3: In a small bowl, lightly beat the 1 egg yolk. Add it to the flour mixture along with 3 tablespoons of ice water. Stir with a fork until the dough just begins to come together.
Step 4: Turn the dough out onto a clean surface and gently bring it together into a ball. Divide the dough in half, form each half into a flattened disc, wrap them tightly in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
Part 2: The Sophisticated Red Wine Caramel Sauce
Step 1: In a small, heavy-bottomed pot, place the 1 cup of sugar and the 3 tablespoons of water. Cook over medium-low heat, swirling the pan occasionally but not stirring, until the sugar has melted and has turned a deep amber color. This will take about 10 minutes.
Step 2: Carefully and slowly whisk in the 1/4 cup of heavy cream and the 1/2 cup of red wine. Be very careful, as the mixture will bubble and spit vigorously.
Step 3: Once the sauce has calmed down, return the pot to the flame. Add the split vanilla bean and its scraped seeds. Let the sauce simmer gently until it has reduced by about half and is thick and smooth. Remove it from the heat and let it cool completely.
Part 3: Assembling and Baking Your Masterpiece
Step 1: Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C).
Step 2: Fill a large bowl with cold water and squeeze in the juice of 1/2 a lemon. Peel, core, and slice your apples very thinly (about 1/8-inch thick). As you slice them, place them in the lemon water to prevent them from browning. Once all the apples are sliced, drain them well and toss them with the 1 tablespoon of flour and the freshly grated cinnamon.
Step 3: On a lightly floured surface, roll out one of your chilled dough discs into a 12-inch circle. Ease the dough into a 10-inch glass pie pan.
Step 4: Now for the beautiful layering. Cover the bottom of the pastry with a single, tightly packed, shingled layer of the apple slices. Ladle about 2 ounces (1/4 cup) of your cooled red wine caramel sauce evenly over the apple slices. Repeat these layers of apples and caramel until the pie is slightly overfilled and domed on the top. Top the final layer of apples with small pieces of the 1/4 cup of butter.
Step 5: Roll out the second disc of dough. Brush the bottom lip of the pie pastry with a little beaten egg white to form a seal. Place the pastry circle on top of the pie and trim the excess dough. Crimp the edges of the dough together with your fingers to make a tight seal.
Step 6: Cut a few slits in the top of the pie to allow steam to escape. Place the pie on a baking sheet and tent it with a piece of aluminum foil.
Step 7: Bake the pie on the middle rack for 25 minutes. In a small bowl, combine the remaining 1/4 cup of sugar with a little more freshly grated cinnamon.
Step 8: After 25 minutes, remove the foil from the pie. Brush the top crust with the remaining beaten egg white and sprinkle it evenly with the cinnamon sugar. Return the pie to the oven and continue to bake, uncovered, for another 25 minutes, until the pie is a deep golden brown and the filling is bubbly.
Step 9 (The Most Important Step!): Let the pie rest at room temperature for at least 1 to 2 hours before slicing. This crucial step allows the hot, jammy filling to cool down and set up properly, which is the secret to a perfect, clean slice.
The Ultimate Gourmet Caramel Apple Pie
An elaborate from-scratch recipe for the ‘Ultimate Caramel Apple Pie’. This dessert features a homemade all-butter double pie crust. The unique filling consists of very thinly sliced apples layered with a rich, homemade caramel sauce that is infused with red wine and a fresh vanilla bean. The pie is assembled in a deep-dish pan, topped with a full crust, brushed with an egg white wash, and sprinkled with cinnamon sugar. It’s baked first under foil and then uncovered until the crust is deeply golden and the filling is bubbly.
- Prep Time: 55 minutes
- Cook Time: 50 minutes
- Total Time: 3 hours 45 minutes (includes chilling and cooling time)
- Yield: 8–10 servings 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegetarian
Ingredients
- For the Pie Crust:
- 3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 sticks (12 tablespoons) cold unsalted butter, in chunks
- 1 egg yolk
- 3 tablespoons ice water, plus more if needed
- For the Caramel Apples:
- 1 cup sugar, plus 1/4 cup for the top
- 3 tablespoons water
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 cup red wine
- 1/2 vanilla bean, split and scraped
- 1 lemon, halved
- 8 apples (e.g., Granny Smith and Gala), peeled, cored, and thinly sliced
- 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 1 cinnamon stick, freshly grated
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter, in pieces
- 1 egg white, beaten
Instructions
- Make the Pie Crust: In a large bowl, combine the flour and salt. Cut in the cold butter with a pastry blender until the mixture resembles coarse meal. In a small bowl, whisk the egg yolk and ice water. Add this to the flour mixture and mix until a dough forms. Form into a ball, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate for 1 hour.
- Make the Caramel Sauce: In a small pot over medium-low heat, cook 1 cup of sugar and 3 tablespoons of water without stirring for about 10 minutes, until the sugar has melted and caramelized. Carefully and slowly add the cream and red wine (it will bubble vigorously). Return the pot to the heat, add the vanilla bean, and simmer until the sauce is smooth and reduced by half. Let it cool.
- Prepare the Apples: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Peel, core, and thinly slice the apples, placing them in a bowl of water with the juice of half a lemon to prevent browning. Drain the apples and toss with 1 tablespoon of flour and freshly grated cinnamon.
- Assemble the Pie: Roll out half of the chilled dough and fit it into a 10-inch glass pie pan.
- Create layers in the pie shell, alternating between shingled apple slices and a drizzle of the cooled red wine caramel sauce, until the pie is slightly domed. Dot the top layer of apples with pieces of butter.
- Roll out the second half of the dough. Brush the rim of the bottom crust with beaten egg white. Place the top crust over the pie, trim, and crimp the edges to seal.
- Brush the top crust with the remaining egg white, sprinkle with a mixture of 1/4 cup sugar and more cinnamon, and cut slits in the top for steam to escape.
- Bake: Place the pie on a sheet tray. Tent with foil and bake for 25 minutes. Remove the foil and continue to bake for another 25 minutes, until golden and bubbly.
- Let the pie rest at room temperature for at least 1 hour before slicing.
Notes
- This pie requires several chilling and cooling steps, so it’s a great make-ahead project for a special occasion.
- Making the caramel sauce requires care, as the hot sugar will bubble up aggressively when the cream and wine are added.
- Slicing the apples very thinly, with a mandolin if possible, is key to creating a dense, meaty apple pie with no gaps.
- Baking the pie on a sheet pan is recommended to catch any potential drips from the bubbling caramel.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 slice (1/8 of pie)
- Calories: 600-700
- Sugar: 60-70 g
- Sodium: 200-300 mg
- Fat: 30-38 g
- Saturated Fat: 18-24 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 75-90 g
- Fiber: 4-6 g
- Protein: 4-6 g
- Cholesterol: 80-100 mg
Storage and Make-Ahead Tips
- Make-Ahead: As outlined in our “Game Plan” above, this is the perfect dessert to make in stages over a few days to make your holiday baking completely stress-free. You can even assemble the entire unbaked pie a day in advance.
- Storage: Store the finished, cooled pie, covered loosely, at room temperature for up to 2 days. For longer storage, you can keep it in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
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Enjoy a True Baking Masterpiece!
You’ve just created a truly special, show-stopping dessert that is the very definition of a holiday indulgence. This Ultimate Caramel Apple Pie, with its flaky crust, its dense, layered filling, and its sophisticated caramel sauce, is a rewarding baking project that is guaranteed to impress.
We hope you enjoy every last, perfect, and delicious bite!
If you enjoyed making this recipe, please leave a comment below or share it with a friend who is ready for a holiday baking adventure!
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Q1: What are the best apples to use for this style of layered apple pie?
The secret to the best apple pie filling is to use a combination of apples. For this dense, layered pie, you absolutely need a firm-tart apple that will hold its shape and provide a good structure, like a Granny Smith. It is also great to mix in a firm-sweet apple that will soften a bit more, like a Gala or a Honeycrisp.
Q2: Why do you slice the apples so thinly and layer them, instead of just using chunks?
This is the professional secret to a “meaty,” dense apple pie with no air gap under the top crust. By slicing the apples very thinly and layering them tightly, they will soften and settle together as they bake, creating a solid, beautiful filling that holds its shape perfectly when you cut into it.
Q3: My caramel sauce seized up or tastes bitter. What did I do wrong?
A seized caramel is usually caused by adding a cold liquid to the hot sugar. The key is to add your cream and red wine slowly and carefully, while whisking. A bitter caramel is one that has been overcooked. Watch it like a hawk, and the moment it turns a beautiful, deep amber color, remove it from the heat.
Q4: Do I have to use red wine in the caramel?
The red wine adds a wonderful, unique, and sophisticated acidity and fruity flavor that is truly special. However, if you prefer to cook without alcohol, you can substitute the red wine with an equal amount of a high-quality, unsweetened pomegranate or cranberry juice for a similar tangy flavor profile.
Q5: Can I make this with a store-bought pie crust?
Yes, for a convenient shortcut, you can absolutely use a high-quality, store-bought refrigerated pie crust. You will need one box, which contains two crusts for a double-crust pie.