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Dessert

German Apple Pie

A pie made with apples, raisins, butter, sugar, eggs, milk, and spices baked in a crust.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 9 ingredients
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Why it works: Nutmeg and clove match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 8,686 recipes. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. The science ↓

German Apple Pie

Oven, in the book's wordsA quick oven

Ingredients

Directions

The book says “a quick oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.

Prepare

  1. Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).

  2. Line a pie plate with the pie crust.

Assemble

  1. Layer the quartered apples in the pie plate until covered.

  2. Dot the apples with small pieces of butter and sprinkle sugar on top.

  3. In a bowl, mix the eggs, milk or cream, and grated nutmeg.

  4. Pour the egg mixture over the apples.

  5. For a layered version, alternate layers of chopped apples, raisins, sugar, butter, and spices in a two-quart basin, finishing with a crust on top.

Bake and serve

  1. Bake for about 2 hours, covering with a tin for the last few minutes to soften the apples.

  2. Sprinkle with sugar before serving.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Nutmeg + clovetop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together8,686 recipes

    Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

  2. Nutmeg + raisintop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together5,377 recipes

    Shared aroma: alpha-terpineol (lilac, floral).

  3. Apple + clovetop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together2,774 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).

  4. Butter + milktop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together81,283 recipes

    Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).

  5. Raisin + clovetop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together4,070 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl caproate (fruity, apple peel).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Apples
Provide the bulk and tender fruit texture that fills the pie.
Eggs
Set the milk or cream mixture into a custard that binds the filling.
Milk or cream
Adds moisture and richness to the egg custard.
Butter
Adds fat and richness that carries the apple flavour.
Sugar
Adds sweetness and helps the apples brown on the surface.
Raisins
Add chewy sweetness and concentrated fruit flavour in the layered version.

The step that matters

Covering with a tin for the last few minutes. Apples need enough heat to soften fully, but the custard and crust can over-brown during a two-hour bake. Covering the top late in baking lets the apples finish cooking while protecting the surface from scorching.

Swap the apple

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, sugar, egg, milk, nutmeg, raisin, clove):

  1. Vanillafits better
  2. Figfits better
  3. Lemonfits about as well
  4. Applethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against butter, sugar, egg, milk, nutmeg, raisin, clove. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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