Almond Apple Rose Pie

As pretty as it is delicious, this Almond Apple Rose Pie features thinly sliced apples arranged to look like a rose, on top of a layer of almond frangipane, which bakes beautifully in a flaky buttery crust. This post is made in partnership with RubyFrost Apples.

Rose Apple Pie

It's hard to decide what to love more about this Rose Apple Pie; how gorgeous it truly is, or how amazing it tastes. Thinly sliced RubyFrost Apples are simply arranged in concentric circles to look like a rose on top of almond cream (also known as frangipane) and baked inside of a buttery flaky pastry. The show-stopping finished product looks like a beautiful flower that is almost too good to eat. But trust me, you'll be so glad you cut into this work of art because this pie tastes like a lovely pastry you'd find in a Parisian bakery.

So, let's get to making it, shall we? The text below offers tons of tips and helpful notes, or you can scroll to the bottom to grab the recipe and get started!

Ingredients Needed

Here is an overview of the ingredients needed for this recipe. The full recipe is listed below in greater detail.

• eggs
• all purpose flour
• almond flour
• apple cider vinegar
• lemon juice
• baking apples (see more on this below)
• almond extract
• vanilla extract
• butter
• granulated sugar
• salt

Useful Tools to Make an Apple Rose Pie

Here is a list of some of the primary tools I use in this recipe. You won't necessarily choose to use them all, but they are exactly what I used. Any links may contain affiliate links.

• food processor (to make the pie dough)
• electric mixer (to make the almond cream, though in a pinch you can make this by hand)
• pie plate (I recommend this metal pie plate for this recipe, see more on why below)
• rolling pin
• sharp knife or a mandolin (for slicing the apples)
• kitchen essentials: baking scale, measuring cups and measuring spoons

The Best Apple for this Pie

This Rose Apple Pie is made especially pretty and delicious thanks to RubyFrost apples.

RubyFrost apples, developed by Dr. Susan Brown from Cornell University are a combination of Braeburn and Autumn Crisp apples, grown in New York State. They have recently been gaining a lot of popularity and for good reason. RubyFrost apples are a versatile and well-balanced sweet-tart crisp apple that is as good to eat fresh as they are to bake with.

These gorgeous apples have a deep ruby red exterior that almost looks like a jewel and a creamy white interior that holds its shape and more importantly for this pie, its color after being baked in a hot oven. This is very unique for an apple, making the RubyFrost perfect for an Apple Rose Pie.

In addition to their ideal taste and texture, they are also perfect to eat all winter long. RubyFrost apples are picked during the fall harvest and then kept in cold storage where their distinct taste develops over time. Meaning, when you get your hands on them midwinter, they'll taste just as fresh and delicious as if they've just been picked.

You can check out this retail locater to find RubyFrost apples near you.

Tips for Making the Pie Pastry

The pastry in this recipe is a relatively standard butter pie crust with a bit of sugar added to it. You can make it by using just a pastry blender or you can use your hands!

New to making pie crust? I suggest you take a look at my Ultimate Guide for All Butter Pie Crust. But here are some quick tips:

• Let the dough rest. I never advise making dough the same day you plan to bake it. It gives the dough less time to hydrate, and makes it harder to roll out.
• Weigh your ingredients! Always weigh your dry ingredients, especially when it comes to baking. Check out this post on using a kitchen scale if you are new to weighing ingredients. If you absolutely refuse to weigh them, I recommend for my recipes (which use a standard 120 grams of flour per cup) that you spoon in the flour into your measuring cup, and sweep away once it's filled.
• Work quickly. Especially if your kitchen is hotter than 70 degrees. Melted butter is the enemy here. If the kitchen is hot, utilize the freezer or refrigerator through the dough-making process to ensure the butter doesn't turn soft.
• The bigger the butter chunks, the flakier your pie will be. If you love the look of super flaky dough, that almost looks like puff pastry, leave at least some of your butter chunks the size of a marble. Though there is a limit for how big to leave your butter pieces, so take care to only leave a few pieces the size of a marble.

Let's Talk Almond Cream (aka Frangipane)

Hidden underneath the apple rose is a heavenly layer of almond cream. This almond filling, also known more formally as frangipane, is a sweet creamy mixture made up of sugar, butter, an egg, almond flour, almond and vanilla extracts, and a bit of flour. It really helps balance this pie, bringing together the sweet-tart apple layer and the crisp pastry layer.

While traditional frangipane is made with an equal portion of all of the ingredients, this frangipane batter has a much thicker consistency. This is because the liquid from the apple sinks down into it, so I had to play with the proportions a bit to get the right consistency for the finished pie.

To make it, the butter and sugar are creamed together with an electric mixer, and then the rest of the ingredients are added in until it's fully combined. It is easiest to use an electric mixer since it is a thick almond cream, but if you wanted to do it by hand, it is possible.

How to Slice and Arrange the Apples

This pie looks so fancy, but I promise it isn't hard to put together. It really just comes down to being able to slice the apples well.

Initially, I tried using a mandolin to slice the apples, but I found it cumbersome because some apples were larger than my mandolin. So I recommend using a sharp knife.

The apples should be sliced about ⅛" thick and in the shape of a half-moon. There are a few different methods of getting here. I started by slicing the whole apple up until I reached the core and then slicing those in half. Then, I cut out the core and sliced those half-moons into the right thickness. But whatever method you find safe and effective will be fine.

Once the apples are sliced, they are mixed together with sugar and lemon juice and macerated for about 10 minutes. This helps bring out some of the moisture (though definitely not all of it) so that the pie isn't too soft. After 10 minutes, the apples need to be drained, and then it's time to arrange them on the pie.

Arrange the apple slices cut side down one slice at a time in concentric circles on top of the almond cream, starting from the outer edge and moving your way in.

Once you only have only about a 2” space remaining in the middle of the pie, it's time to make the center of the rose. Lay down about 6 slices of apple in a straight line on a work surface. They should be overlapping about ½ way through. Roll the apples up, starting with the first one that was laid down until you get an apple spiral. Place it in the center of the pie. Fill in any gaps in the apple rose with any remaining apple slices.

Baking a Rose Apple Pie

A few things to point out about the baking instructions for this pie. First, the pie crust isn't blind-baked. Because of this, at the beginning of the recipe, the instructions call for baking it at 400ºF on the lowest rack for 20 minutes. This helps ensure that the bottom crust gets well baked. I also found using a metal pie plate very helpful for this recipe because it maintains the heat well which helped bake the bottom crust well.

However, after 20 minutes the oven temperature needs to be lowered so that the apples and almond cream don't get too brown due to the high temperature. So make sure to set a timer when you initially put the pie in the oven to ensure you don't forget to turn the temperature down.

You'll know the pie is done when the almond cream has started to sneak up in spots around the apples, the pie filling has puffed up throughout and it feels set (though still a bit woobly) when you jiggle the pie.

How to Serve and Store It

The baked apple pie needs to cool down at least two hours before serving. Unorthodox as it is, I found cutting the pie with a pair of large kitchen scissors easier to snip the apple rose to get for a pretty pie slice.

Serve this pie slightly warm or at room temperature. It can also be served as is, with a dusting of powdered sugar or even a touch of whipped cream.

To store the pie, you can leave it at room temperature, covered, for 1 day. For longer storage cover and place in the refrigerator.

Watch it: Apple Rose Pie Assembly Tutorial

More Apple Recipes:

• Apple Hand Pies
• Apple Pie Filling
• Cinnamon Roll Apple Pie
• Mile-High Apple Pie

I am so honored when you make a recipe from my site! If you make this Apple Rose Pie, please leave a comment and a star rating with your experience! If you have any questions about this recipe, feel free to comment here, too!

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This post was sponsored by RubyFrost Apples. All thoughts and opinions are 100% my own. Thank you for continuing to support Everyday Pie and the brands I work with!