At a recent dinner party in Palm Beach, I served this pie recipe and, as usual, it was a resounding hit!
As a bride of 21, Stuart and I drove to Michigan after our honeymoon, where my darling new husband studied for his MBA. It was a long way from my home in Virginia. We moved into not-so-glamorous married-student housing, which to us, was glorious! We didn’t know a soul there. Gratefully, Stuart introduced me to one of his classmates, Ricardo Mayer, and his wife, Patricia, another newlywed couple from Rio de Janeiro. They instantly became (lifelong) friends, and are Godparents to our son.
Patricia and I decided to host a dinner every other Saturday night so we could learn to cook various dishes, with the prerequisite being that we had to cook something we had never made before. Well, we had some interesting high and low notes, as you can imagine! But, one dessert Patricia made in particular was a huge hit… simply divine! We forever referred to it as “Patricia’s Apple Pie!”
A year later, we moved to Connecticut, where I joined the Junior League. One evening, a member called me before their big “bake-off” competition event and asked me to contribute a dessert. It was late, but I just happened to have the cream cheese and apples, and the other ingredients are always a constant in my kitchen. So, that night, I made “Patricia’s Apple Pie.”
Guess what… I WON!🎉
The Hartford Courant Newspaper was there to cover the story and photograph me with the winning dessert! They asked if I would share my recipe. I thought it was an old family recipe, so I felt obliged to ask Patricia first before I gave it away. I rang her in Rio, and with her charming South American accent, she said, “Oh, Holy, (love how she pronounces my name!) no, this is not a family recipe. I cut it out of a Philadelphia Cream Cheese advertisement in The New York Times!” I responded, “Really? Ha, I had no idea!” I tweaked the recipe just enough for it to officially become “Patricia’s” Apple Pie, and it is indeed, a WINNER!
While there are three steps to making it, it is easy to do the second time after you have made it once. It looks more like a tart or deep-dish pie than a traditional “pie.” This is our family’s most favorite apple dessert; it is always served at Thanksgiving, along with a pumpkin pie, of course!
Patricia’s Apple Pie!
Heat the oven to 450 degrees.
Part I
½ cup butter
⅓ cup sugar
¼ tsp vanilla
½ tsp almond extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
Part II
8 oz cream cheese, softened
¼ cup sugar
1 egg
½ tsp vanilla
½ tsp almond extract
Part III
¾ cup sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
Dash of ground cloves or allspice
3-5 peeled apples, sliced
Optional: ¼ cup sliced almonds
Step I: Cream butter, sugar, vanilla and almond extract with an electric mixer. Blend in flour. Spread on the bottom and sides of a 9” springform pan.
Step II: Beat the cream cheese and sugar with an electric mixer until smooth. Add the egg, vanilla, and almond extracts and pour the mixture into a pastry-lined springform pan.
Step III: Combine sugar, cinnamon, and cloves in a bowl. Press each apple slice into this mixture and arrange in circles over the cream cheese mixture until the entire surface is covered. (This is the time consuming part!) Optional: Sprinkle with sliced almonds.
Bake at 450 degrees for 10 minutes. Then reduce heat to 400 degrees and bake for 25-35 minutes, or more, until lightly browned.
- FYI Place the springform pan on a baking sheet lined with foil because occasionally some butter leaks out while baking. This will save you from cleaning it up on the bottom of the oven!
Let it cool a bit before using a knife to loosen the sides of the pie. Then, remove the collar of the springform pan. Do not try to remove the bottom of the pan; just serve from it. I place the pie onto a pretty serving plate to serve.
