In 1742, the Williamsburg printer William Parks reprinted Eliza Smith's The Compleat Housewife, a London cookbook first published in 1727. It became the first cookbook printed in the American colonies, according to Encyclopedia Virginia and the Library of Virginia. Smith's apple pie ends with a suggestion: "You may put in a little quince or marmalade if you please."
Eliza Smith's apple pie
Her recipe, reproduced by the National Library of Medicine, starts with a puff-paste crust. Quartered apples go in layered with sugar, a little finely minced lemon peel, a squeeze of lemon and a few cloves, "here and there one." Then comes a syrup made by boiling the apple peels and cores with a blade of mace. The marmalade is an option in her last line, but it's the part we like best. Putting marmalade in an apple pie isn't a modern twist. In America, it goes back at least as far as the first cookbook printed here.
Where does the marmalade go?
In two places. The Canadian cook Ricardo Larrivée's apple and marmalade pie whisks ¾ cup of marmalade with brown sugar and flour, then tosses six cups of sliced apples in it before baking. The marmalade takes the place of some of the sugar and all of the zest, and its pectin helps the juices set. We follow his filling, keep Smith's lemon and clove, and add one more step: a thin coat of warm marmalade brushed over the crust as soon as the pie comes out of the oven, for shine and a little peel in the first bite.
Which marmalade for apple pie?
Navel Orange gives the classic orange-and-apple flavor. For a more floral pie, use Mandarin. Melogold Grapefruit brings a sharper, more bitter edge that suits tart apples.
Apple pie with marmalade recipe
Yield: one 9-inch pie, 8 servings · Prep: 30 minutes · Bake: about 1 hour · Cool: at least 2 hours
Ingredients
Crust
- Pastry for one 9-inch double-crust pie, homemade or store-bought
Filling
- ¼ cup (50 g) packed brown sugar
- 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup (180 ml) Navel Orange Marmalade
- Finely grated zest of ½ lemon and 1 tbsp lemon juice
- Pinch of ground cloves (about ⅛ tsp)
- 6 cups (about 2½ lb) apples, peeled, cored and sliced; a mix of firm-tart and softer-sweet varieties
To finish
- 1 tbsp milk, for brushing
- 2 tbsp Navel Orange Marmalade, warmed with 1 tsp water, for the glaze
Steps
- Line a 9-inch pie plate with the bottom crust, leaving the overhang. Refrigerate both crusts while you make the filling.
- Set an oven rack in the lowest position and heat the oven to 375°F (190°C). Put a rimmed sheet pan on the rack below to catch drips.
- In a large bowl, whisk the brown sugar and flour together. Whisk in the ¾ cup marmalade, the lemon zest and juice, and the cloves.
- Add the apples and fold until every slice is coated.
- Pile the filling into the crust. Brush the rim with milk, lay the top crust over, trim, and press the edges to seal. Cut a few slits in the top for steam and brush it lightly with milk. (For a lattice top like the one pictured, see the notes.)
- Bake until the crust is deep golden and the juices bubble through the slits or lattice, about 1 hour. If the edges brown too fast, cover them with foil.
- While the pie is still hot, brush the warmed marmalade glaze over the top crust.
- Let the pie cool at least 2 hours so the filling sets before slicing.
Notes
- Chop the peel. Long shreds of peel can bunch up in the filling. Snip them into short pieces before measuring.
- Sweetness. Marmalade is sweeter than zest alone. Taste a coated apple slice before filling the crust, and add a tablespoon more brown sugar if your apples are very tart.
- Optional lattice top. A lattice shows off the glaze and lets steam escape without slits. Roll the second crust into a circle about 11 inches across and cut it into 8–10 strips, each about 1 inch wide. Lay half the strips across the filling in one direction, spacing them evenly. Fold every other strip back halfway, lay one strip across the other way, and unfold the folded strips over it. Repeat, alternating which strips you fold, until the top is woven. Trim the ends even with the overhang, fold the bottom crust's edge up over them, and crimp to seal. Brush with milk and bake as written.
- Make ahead. The pie can be baked a day ahead and kept loosely covered at room temperature. Glaze it right after baking either way.
Adapted from Ricardo's apple and marmalade pie, with lemon and clove from Eliza Smith's 18th-century recipe and a marmalade glaze added.
For more ways to bring marmalade to the holiday table, see our marmalade recipes from shortbread to glazed ham, or browse the marmalades.
Photo from Unsplash.
