Irish Apple Amber Pie

Celebrate this Saint Patrick's Day with this authentic Irish Apple Amber Pie! Unlike an American apple pie, this pie has more of an apple sauce filling and is topped with an airy meringue.

☘️A traditional pie from Ireland

Looking for something traditional to make for Saint Patrick's Day? This Irish Apple Amber Pie is it! The filling is a sugary, chunky apple sauce over a buttery crust, with clouds of fluffy meringue topping. This pie is part lemon meringue pie, part apple pie, but has it's own flavour. I really loved it!

You can use a pre made pie dough, or use my recipe for homemade flaky pie dough below. Either works! The apple filling can be made a day ahead and stored in the refrigerator. Top the pie with the meringue topping the day you want to serve it (meringue deflates after a day). This is such an easy pie to put together!

Looking for more Irish recipes!?! Try my Irish soda bread, Guinness chocolate cupcakes, or St. Patrick's Day Trifle!

🥘Ingredients

Ingredient notes

• Apples - I like to use a combination of apples (I do this with my apple pies too!). I recommend using a tart apple and sweet apple. Some varieties that work well are Granny Smith, Fuji, Pink Lady, and Honeycrisp.
• Large eggs - White eggs work too. I had brown eggs on hand, so that's what I used.
• Lemon juice - For best taste, use juice from a fresh squeezed lemon.

🔪Instructions

Pie Crust

Homemade pie dough is actually really easy to make once you get the hang of it. Check out my post on how to make pie dough if you are a beginner.

To make homemade pie dough, mix flour, sugar, and salt in a large bowl. Add shortening or lard, and using your hands or a pastry cutter, break into the flour until the fat is well distributed and is pea-sized.

Mix milk and water in a small bowl. Pour a bit of the mixture into the large bowl and mix. Keep adding milk/water mixture until the dough comes together. You may not need to use all the milk/water mixture. If you need more, add a teaspoon of water at a time.

Wrap dough in plastic wrap, and store in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour or up to 3 days. I like to make my dough the day before I make a pie. You can also freeze pie dough for up to 3 months.

Partially baking pie crust

Whether you make the pie dough yourself, or use a frozen pie dough, it will need to be par baked (partially baked). Roll dough out into a 12 inch circle on a floured surface. Carefully place the dough into the pie plate, tucking it into the bottom sides, and making sure it's smooth. Flute or crimp the edges.

Place pie into the freezer while you preheat the oven to 375¯F (190°C). Line the pie crust with parchment paper, fill with baking weights or beans, and bake for 12-15 minutes. Remove pie from oven and remove baking beans and parchment paper. Use a fork and prick holes all over the bottom of the crust. Return the pie crust to the oven and bake for a further 7-8 minutes.

Apple filling

Reduce oven to 350° (180°C). Combine apples and water in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Cook until the apples are tender, about 10 minutes.

Remove pan from heat and mix in egg yolks, sugar, lemon juice, and cinnamon. Fill the partially baked crust with the apple mixture, and bake for 30-35 minutes, or until the filling is set. Let cool completely on a wire rack.

Meringue topping

In the top of a double broiler, combine egg whites, sugar, and cream of tartar. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until sugar is dissolved. Remove from the heat and beat with an electric mixer until stiff peaks form.

Dollop the topping over the pie, swirling to make peaks. Toast the top with a butane torch or in the oven on broil for a minute or two (watch carefully because it can burn really fast under a broiler).

For more step-by-step photos and instructions, see the web story for Irish Apple Amber Pie!

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