Apricot Slab Pie

Apricot slab pie is just fun to say, isn’t it? “Gimme a slab” just sort of rolls off the tongue. I saw this slab pie on the cover of Fine Cooking Magazine this month and it offered the perfect solution to a dessert for a crowd. I’m throwing a big party this weekend for my fiancé's daughter and husband who are returning to Canada after five months spent working in Uganda. The idea behind the slab pie is that you can (theoretically) slice off a slab and eat it sans plate and utensils. In practice, we found that you will likely prefer the usual method of eating, if you are over the age of eight, since it is a bit sticky – but man-oh-man – this is good eats!

It may seem a bit strange to tackle a recipe that takes so much kitchen time in the middle of summer, but this one is really worth the effort and the additional heat. You know the old saw about not being able to take the heat anyway. I won’t bother to reprint the recipe here since, for a change, I made it exactly as directed – OK so I didn’t really measure, but you get the point. I will give you my photos and tips, however.

The full recipe can be found in the August/September issue of Fine Cooking (the cover recipe) or online here.

First off; read the recipe thoroughly before beginning. I don’t often follow recipes – I tend to use them as ideas so when I do actually follow a recipe I sometimes forget this basic step. This recipe has a lot of steps and if you are using the magazine, they can get lost in the overall text until the last minute.

Second; give yourself plenty of time to make this “pie”. The pie dough needs to be cold and very firm and the filling needs to be completely cooled – fridge cooled is even better. I made the pie twice – the first time, it came out perfectly and the second time, it burst out of the side since the dough had come to room temp and the filling was still slightly warm. It wasn’t a disaster but it certainly wasn’t as spectacular a presentation.

Third; the magazine states that the slab pie is best eaten the same day it is baked. By the time you make the dough, and the filling (which takes an hour), cool everything, roll, fill and bake for an hour, then cool the whole pie for several hours, you may be eating it at midnight. We tried it the day of baking and the next day and actually found the flavors to be better the next day.

Finally, I found that the crust recipe makes a good deal more than you will need. With the leftovers from the two slab pies, I was able to make a lattice top cherry pie – both bottom crust and lattice. This is not necessarily a bad thing since it does keep in the fridge well and also freezes.

Overall, I love this recipe. The crust is flaky and just the right thickness and the filling is a symphony of flavors with the orange, apricot, almond and brandy. I am new to Fine Cooking Magazine and I love that it has recipes that aren’t ‘dumbed down’. It has recipes for less experienced cooks as well but I love the excitement of a truly wonderful dish done right, even if it takes some extra work. The folks at Fine Cooking are also very responsive on twitter so if you have questions, it is like having your own support line without pushing menu buttons on your phone.

Check it out – your friends and family will thank you – profusely!