An easy Romanian apple pie with flaky pastry made with oil and a luscious apple filling, the perfect apple dessert this autumn.
Incredibly delicious Romanian apple pie with fake puff pastry, a pastry recipe made with oil that is so much easier and faster to make than regular puff pastry.
I've been meaning to bake this pie at least 10 times during the last year. I even went shopping, especially for it, a couple of times in between. Only to choose yet another recipe to make in the end.
Why? Because I got this recipe from my dear aunt Geta. So? Geta is a wonderful wonderful cook and baker, I've never eaten anything she made that I didn't like (well, except the fish soup, sorry, Geta), and I've cooked many of her recipes over the years.
You should try this creamy spinach in bechamel sauce, this amazing layered lemon cake, or this chicken schnitzel in pancake batter. All Geta's recipes.
There is only one flaw with the recipes she gives me: they are always so approximate. You will need a piece of yeast as big as a walnut or a glass of milk (which size is always a guess) or my absolute favorite: take as much flour as the dough can assimilate.
Ingredients
You will only need super available and cheap ingredients:
- Vegetable oil - choose a neutral-tasting oil like canola.
- All-purpose flour - you will need flour to make the fake puff pastry and the fake butter for layering into the pastry.
- Egg
- Apples - regular apples; I prefer a tart sort like Granny Smith, Jonagold, or Braeburn.
- Semolina
- Granulated sugar - a quite small amount for a pie; the pie is not overly sweet, but it shouldn't be; it is perfect the way it is.
- Cinnamon
How to make pastry with oil?
The pastry you need for the apple slice is absolutely amazing; it is what I would call a fake puff pastry. Absolutely genius! There is no endless rolling and folding and butter cutting and so on.
Pastry:
- Mix together the first 12 tablespoons of vegetable oil with water, salt, and egg.
- Slowly start adding the first amount of flour, only a little at a time, making sure you incorporate it well.
- Keep stirring the mixture with a spoon as long as you can. When stirring becomes too difficult, add the remaining flour and start kneading the dough in the bowl.
- When the flour is well incorporated, turn the dough onto the floured working surface and knead until smooth. The dough will remain rather soft; that is the way it is supposed to be.
Filling paste:
- This paste will replace the butter that you would use to make a regular puff pastry.
- In a small bowl, mix together the second amount of vegetable oil and flour; you should obtain a smooth paste.
Pie filling:
- Grate the apple; there will be no need to peel them. Mix with 3 tablespoon semolina and the sugar.
Assemble:
- You will need a roasting tin of about 20x30 cm/ 8x12 inches.
- Roll the vegan pastry on a floured surface, about 30x40 cm/ 12x16 inch.
- Spread the paste evenly on the rolled pastry.
- Roll the pastry beginning at the smaller end to get a large sausage.
- Cut this sausage in two to obtain two even smaller sausages.
- Roll the first sausage just a little bit larger than the size of the roasting tin that you will use to bake the apple slice.
- Oil the pan and place the rolled pastry inside, pushing the edges of the pastry lightly up the sides of the pan.
- Spread the apple mixture on the rolled pastry.
- Sprinkle the remaining tablespoon semolina and the cinnamon evenly on top of the apples.
- Roll the second pastry sausage about the size of the baking tin and use it to cover the apples.
- Bake for about 30 minutes or until golden and flaky.
- Let cool, cut into squares, and serve dusted with icing sugar.
This is a repost from September 2015.
More apple cakes
- Moist Apple and Cinnamon Cake
- Apple Caramel Cake
- Apple Puff Pastry Rolls
- Vegan Apple Cake
- Apple Streusel Cheesecake
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Romanian Apple Pie Recipe
Equipment
- Baking tray or roasting tin about 20x30 cm/ 8x12 inches
Ingredients
Pastry:
- 12 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 12 tablespoons water
- a pinch of salt
- 1 egg
- 320 g all-purpose flour 11.5 oz/ 2 ⅔ cups
Filling:
- 12 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 125 g all-purpose flour 4.5 oz/ 1 cup
- 450 g apples 1 lb
- 75 g granulated sugar 2.5 oz/ ⅓ cup
- 4 tablespoons semolina
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- icing/powdered sugar for dusting
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200°C/ 400°F.
- Pastry: To make the pastry mix the oil, water, salt, and egg in a medium bowl. Add the flour little by little, mix using a spoon as long as possible, add the remaining flour, and knead the dough lightly in the bowl. Turn the dough on the floured working surface and knead until it is smooth; it will still be soft.
- Paste: In a small bowl, mix the following 12 tablespoons vegetable oil with the 125 g/ 1 cup flour until you obtain a smooth paste.
- Roll the pastry on a floured surface, about 30x40 cm/ 12x16 inches. Spread the paste evenly on the rolled pastry, roll the pastry beginning at the smaller end to obtain a large sausage. Cut this sausage in two to get two even smaller sausages.Roll the first sausage just a little bit larger than the size of the baking tray or roasting pan that you will use to bake the cake. Brush the roasting tin with oil and place the rolled pastry inside, pushing the edges of the pastry lightly up the sides of the tin.
- Filling: Grate the apples (leaving the peel on) and mix them with 3 tablespoons of semolina and sugar. Spread this mixture on the rolled pastry. Sprinkle the remaining tablespoon of semolina and with the cinnamon evenly on top of the apples.
- Roll the second sausage about the size of the baking tin and cover the apples.
- Bake for about 30 minutes or until the pastry is golden brown and flaky.
- Let cool completely, cut into squares, and serve dusted with icing sugar.
Alina Delicious Romania says
Congrats to aunt Geta for inspiring you to write this wonderful recipe! I love apple pie, in all its forms 🙂 Do you think this fake puff pastry would go well with the cremsnit filling?
Adina says
Thank you, Alina. Why not, sounds like a great idea using this pastry for cremsnit. I have recently made cremsnit with bought puff pastry, but maybe I should try this pastry next time. ?
Penny says
Is this liquid vegetable oil or solid such as crysco? Being a type of pastry I am thinking it should be solid but I am hesitant! Please help!! lol
Adina says
Hi penny. It is regular liquid vegetable oil, I use canola most of the times.
Nickole says
This looks delicious but it’s not vegan if it has eggs
Adina Beck says
@Nickole, ??? Thank you! Sometimes I wonder where my head is!