This is another pie from The Four and Twenty Blackbirds Pie Book, and boy, do they really know their stuff. In fact, this may be the tastiest pie that I’ve ever made. I’ve never done much baking with apricots and holy smokes are they ever delicious here! I loved their tart floral flavour next to the warmth of the cinnamon. I finally found Angostura bitters in the grocery store (I guess I didn’t look hard enough last time!) and I like what they added to this pie – the flavour I got from them was almost like allspice, and it was really good with the apricots.

In the book, this pie is paired with a “vanilla pouring cream”, aka a cooked vanilla custard. I decided to use my own crème anglaise recipe instead but used their suggested addition of a spoonful of rum. It tasted like the most delicious melty vanilla ice cream, and it is HEAVEN poured over a slice of the apricot pie.

I cut into the pie while it was slightly warm, so the filling was a little runny. It firmed up more when it cooled but was still a bit oozy and soft set – but I liked it that way. If you prefer a firmer filling, you could use a little more arrowroot starch in the filling. The apricots in the pie are simply pitted and quartered, so you get a wonderful contrast of big chunks of soft fruit surrounded by tart-yet-sweet syrup. I already can’t wait for apricots to come back in season next year to make this again!

Cinnamon Apricot Pie with Crème Anglaise

Slightly adapted from The Four and Twenty Blackbirds Pie Book. Makes one 9″ pie, about 8 servings. Click here for a printable PDF of the recipe.

Cinnamon Apricot Pie

You will need a double crust of your favourite pie dough – I used this flaky, all-butter one – divided into 2 equal portions and well chilled.

Roll out one portion of pie dough on a lightly floured surface into a circle about 1/4″-1/8″ thick and large enough to fit your 9″ glass pie plate. Line your pie plate with the dough and trim the edges with kitchen shears to leave a 1″ overhang. Set aside in the fridge.

Roll out the second portion of pie dough into a roughly 12″ square shape about 1/4″-1/8″ thick. Trim the left and right edges so they are straight, then cut the dough into 12 thick strips.

Braid these strips into 4 braids – for even braids, I find it easier to start braiding from the middle out to one end, then flip the strips around and braid again from the middle out to the other end. Transfer the braids to a plate or baking sheet and set aside in the fridge.

Quarter and remove the pits from 1 1/2 lbs apricots and place the fruit in a large bowl. Toss with 2 tbsp lemon juice.

In a small bowl, mix together:

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 tsp ground cinnamon

3 tbsp arrowroot starch

(the book recommends potato starch but I didn’t have any so used arrowroot instead. If you prefer a more set filling, try 4 tbsp)

Toss the sugar mixture with the apricots, along with 3 dashes Angostura bitters, until everything is evenly mixed.

Spoon the apricot filling into the prepared pie plate.

Arrange the 4 braids over top of the filling, and trim them to just past the edge of the filling. Fold the overhang of the bottom pie dough in towards the filling and press firmly to sandwich the edges of the braids.

Crimp the edge of the pastry firmly between your fingers.

Place the assembled pie in the freezer to set the pastry while you preheat the oven to 425˚F (400˚F convection) with the rack in the bottom third of the oven.

Once the pie is chilled and the oven reaches temperature, whisk together an egg wash of 1 egg + 1 tbsp water and brush it over the pastry. Sprinkle with coarse grained sugar, such as turbinado.

Place the pie on a metal baking sheet and bake in the bottom third of the preheated 425˚F (400˚F convection) oven for 20-25 minutes, until the pastry is set and a light golden brown in colour. Reduce the oven to 375˚F (350˚F convection) and bake for another 35-45 minutes, until the pastry is a deep golden brown and the juices in the middle of the pie are bubbling.

Allow the baked pie to cool completely on a wire rack, about 2-3 hours, before slicing and serving. The pie will keep at room temperature for about 2 days, or 3 days in the fridge.

Crème Anglaise

In a medium bowl, whisk together until pale and thickened:

3 egg yolks

2 tbsp granulated sugar

In a medium saucepan, combine:

3/4 cups whole milk

3/4 cups whipping cream 

(alternatively, you could use 1 1/2 cups whole milk or half-and-half)

1 vanilla bean, split and scraped

Set the saucepan over medium heat and heat until the mixture starts steaming and is juuuuuust about to boil.

Pour a little bit of the hot milk mixture into the egg yolks, whisking constantly to temper them, then slowly add the rest of the hot milk while still whisking constantly. Remove the vanilla bean pod.

Pour the mixture back into the saucepan and set over low heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens and again is just about to boil. If all of a sudden it curdles and gets lumpy, don’t panic – remove it from the heat and whisk, whisk, whisk like crazy until it smoothes out again.

Pour the mixture through a fine mesh sieve to remove any bits of cooked egg, and if it’s still a bit curdled looking, give it a whizz with a handheld immersion blender (or wait until it cools and blend it in a blender jar).

Stir in 1 tbsp dark rum, then press a piece of plastic wrap to the surface of the crème anglaise and allow it to cool in the fridge.

Pour the cool crème anglaise generously over slices of the cinnamon apricot pie.