apple pie with an olive oil crust

apple pie with an olive oil crust

• 15 Jun 2026

Is there anything better than a piece of homemade apple pie? I think not. Each year my Grandma Sonie made apple pie for her Mother's Day morning tea and her pie was delicious. Grandma only read and wrote in Russian, so I don't have a written version of her recipe, though there may be a copy in my Mum's hand written recipe book. I created my own version when I was a teenager, adapted from a Women's Weekly recipe and since then I have made many, many apple pies.

Phil Khoury specialises in plant based baking, and I was keen to try his apple pie recipe. The filling uses both the apple flesh and the peel, something I'd not seen before, whilst the pastry is olive oil based, something I've not made before. I was intrigued, so as soon as it was apple season, I got to work making my own version of Phil's apple pie.

Here's the recipe for you which makes a 16-cm tart, adapted from a Phil Khoury recipe and you can watch Phil make the pie here. To make a larger tart please refer to the original recipe. For all my recipes I use a 250 ml cup and a 20 ml tablespoon, unsalted butter and 60 g eggs. My oven is a conventional gas oven so if your oven is fan forced, you may need to reduce the oven temperature by 20°C.

Apple Pie with an olive oil crust

Apple filling
500g apples (I used a mix of Pink Lady and Granny Smith apples)
75g caster sugar 
½ tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp vanilla bean paste
1½ tsp finely grated lemon zest and 1 tsp lemon juice
15g cornflour

For the flaky pastry
225g plain flour
½ tsp fine salt
15g caster sugar
90ml olive oil
15g cooked sweet potato, cooled (see Recipe Tips below)

To assemble
¼ cup apricot jam
Soya milk or cream 
Demerara sugar, for sprinkling
Vegan ice cream or cream, to serve

Filling
Peel and core the apples, reserving the peel. Either chop the apple peel finely by hand or blend in a small food processor. Set aside.

Thinly slice the peeled apples about 2 mm thick using either a sharp knife or a mandoline. Place the thinly sliced apples into a large bowl with the sugar, cinnamon, vanilla, lemon juice, zest and cornflour and toss the apples gently until everything is combined. Stand for 20 minutes.

Pastry
Prepare the flaky pastry by mixing the flour, salt and sugar together in a large bowl. Add the oil and use a silicone spatula or your hands to mix it into the flour. The oil should coat all the flour. Add the sweet potato along with 37 ml cold water and mix until the dough just comes together. Don't overmix because the dough will start to separate and become more difficult to handle.

Place two-thirds of the pastry dough between two sheets of baking paper then roll out into a large disc until it is 3-4 mm thick and about 9 inch in diameter. Roll out remaining one-third of pastry between two sheets of baking paper into a smaller (8 inch) disc that is 3 mm thick, and set aside.

Use the larger disc of pastry to line a 16 cm tart tin by removing the top sheet of baking paper and gently placing the tin on top of the pastry as a guide. Use a small sharp knife to trim the pastry around the tin, allowing for at least a 3 cm border, then remove the tart tin. Use the bottom sheet of baking paper to help flip the pastry gently into the tin, then carefully ease into the shape of the tin with your fingertips leaving any excess overhanging.

Chill the pastry in the fridge for 15 minutes, then use the tip of a small knife to ‘dock' the base with a few pricks, about 2 cm apart, to stop the base from puffing up. If blind-baking the pastry (see recipe tip), preheat the oven to 190°C, conventional/170°C fan forced. Scrunch up some baking paper, then unfurl it and press into the pastry-lined tart case and fill it with rice or baking beans. Bake for 18 minutes or until nicely golden. If the edges are browning too early, cover them with a piece of kitchen foil. Remove and allow to cool.

If not blind baking the pie, place a baking tray, on which the tart tin can sit while baking, on the middle rack. Preheat the oven to 200°C, conventional/180°C fan. 

Spoon the apricot jam over the base of the tart, then arrange the finely chopped apple peels over the jam and then gently layer the sliced apples on top, stacking to fill all the gaps. There will be some liquid leftover from the apples, so stir to agitate any settled cornflour and drizzle it slowly over the pie. You can push the apples into a slight domed shape, if you like.

Brush the overhanging edge of the piecrust with water, then place the smaller disc of pastry over the apples and press the edges together. Trim and crimp the edges as you like. Brush the soya milk or cream across the top of the pastry and sprinkle some demerara sugar on top for a tantalising crunch. Use a sharp knife to cut some steam holes – I like one in the centre then six in a little burst radiating from it.

Place the tart on the preheated tray then bake for 20 minutes. Rotate the tin and bake for another 20–25 minutes, until golden brown all over. Remove from the oven and leave to stand for at least 30 minutes. Serve warm with a scoop of vegan ice cream or regular cream or ice cream if not vegan.

Recipe tips
Prepare the sweet potato in advance, preheat the oven to 200°C, conventional or 180°C fan forced and bake whole sweet potatoes for 45 minutes. When cooked, halve and scoop out the soft potato inside. Cool completely before weighing and mashing with a fork ready to use in the recipe.

If using a metal tin, you do not need to blind bake the pastry case. Other tart dishes made from glass or ceramics do not conduct heat as well, so in this case you will need to blind bake the tart case as described above.

Once cooked, the apple pie keeps well in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 4 days. When it’s cooled completely, slice from the fridge then reheat in the oven or microwave. 

The apple pie was so delicious and the olive oil pastry was a revelation. I had no problem lining the tart tin but I had some trouble getting the top crust in place without it cracking. The raw sugar topping covered up any flaws and once baked the olive oil crust was really crisp and it stayed that way for a few days. This recipe is definitely a keeper.

See you all again next week with some more baking from my kitchen.

Bye for now,

Jillian