Apple Slab Pie with a Flaky, Golden Crust

A classic apple pie is wonderful, but an apple slab pie has one particularly useful advantage: it cuts into easy-to-share squares. Bake it in a rectangular pan, let it cool, and you have a dessert ready for a family gathering, holiday table, or afternoon coffee.

The photograph you shared appears to show a rectangular, double-crust fruit pie cut into portions, with small pieces of apple visible beneath the pale golden pastry. The exact filling and dough cannot be confirmed from a photo, so the recipe below is an image-inspired apple version with its own measured ingredients and instructions.

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This apple slab pie has a buttery pastry base, a cinnamon-scented apple filling, and a top crust that bakes into irregular, flaky ridges. Its top is intentionally rustic. If a little filling peeks through the slits or a corner of pastry lifts as it bakes, that only makes the finished pan more inviting.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• It serves a crowd. A rectangular pan yields 12 generous pieces or 16 smaller squares.
• It is easier to portion than a round pie. Straight cuts make serving simple.
• The filling stays familiar. Apples, cinnamon, lemon, and brown sugar are all you need for a classic flavor.
• The crust has plenty of flaky edges. Even people who ask for a corner piece of pie will be happy.
• It travels well once cooled. Take the pan to a gathering and slice it when you arrive.

The recipe includes practical steps for managing juicy apples, checking whether the bottom is baked, and cooling the pie before cutting. Those details matter more than making the top crust look perfectly smooth.

What Makes an Apple Slab Pie Different?

A slab pie spreads its filling over a larger, shallower area than a traditional deep pie. That means you get a good balance of fruit and crust in each square. The broad surface also gives steam places to escape, especially when you cut vents in the top pastry.

This version uses a 9-by-13-inch (23-by-33-cm) metal baking pan. A metal pan helps the bottom crust bake through. Its raised sides contain the apple juices better than a flat baking sheet, making it a practical choice if this is your first apple slab pie.

The pastry is made from scratch, but the process is manageable: mix the dough, chill it, roll out two rectangles, fill, seal, and bake. There is no need to make decorative lattice strips unless you want to. A simple top crust with a few slits gives the pie the rustic appearance of your reference photo.

Ingredients

Yield: 12 generous pieces or 16 smaller squares

For the pastry

• 3 cups (375 g) all-purpose flour, or plain flour
• 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon fine salt
• 1 cup (226 g) cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
• ¾ cup (180 ml) ice-cold water, approximately; add only what the dough needs

For the apple filling

• 3 pounds (1.35 kg) apples before peeling and coring, about 8–10 medium apples
• ½ cup (100 g) packed light brown sugar
• ¼ cup (50 g) granulated sugar
• ¼ cup (32 g) cornstarch, or cornflour in the UK
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
• ¼ teaspoon fine salt

For finishing

• 1 large egg
• 1 tablespoon water
• 1 tablespoon coarse sugar, optional

Allergy note: The pastry contains wheat, butter, and an egg wash. The egg wash can be omitted if needed; brush the top lightly with milk or leave it plain, understanding that the color will differ.