Miso caramel apple pies

June 1, 2025

   

For Michael's birthday this year, his mum gave him a copy of The Australian Women's Weekly The Pie Maker Volume 2, a recipe book full of cute, single-serve pastries. I offered to make his pick of the recipes as a little home celebration on the weekend following his birthday. Apple pie has long been a favourite of Michael's so I wasn't surprised that he chose the miso caramel-garnished version in this book.

This was a fun little combination, very different to my go-to apple pie recipe. It started with frozen shortcrust pastry but I preferred to use puff, simply quartering the sheet and easing each square into a pie dish without trimming it. I'd never before noticed canned pie apple at the supermarket but we tracked it down and it was an easy filling, spiced up with ginger, cinnamon and miso. On top there's an elegant fan of apple slices; the recipe reckons that each pie can support half an apple but I thought a quarter was a better fit. The recipe's designed for a dedicated pie maker, but these ones were just as effectively baked in the oven.

Finally, there's miso-spiked top'n'fill caramel to drizzle over the top (and if you're sensible, a scoop of icecream on the side). It's a delicious little package, fit for a birthday.

   

As a post-script, here's Henry, the newest member of our household. He's as fond of human food as he is his own, and he stared longingly at these pies throughout their assembly.

Miso caramel apple pies

(slightly adapted from a recipe in
The Australian Women's Weekly The Pie Maker Volume 2)

1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed

1 tablespoon white miso

1/4 cup caster sugar

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

385g can pie apple slices

1 red apple

miso caramel

1/2 cup canned caramel top'n'fill

2 tablespoons white miso

Preheat an oven to 180°C. Line four single-serve pie dishes with paper; I just used squares of paper and didn't worry too much about gaps. Cut the pastry into four squares of equal area and gently fit them into the pie dishes. Add some paper/pie weights and pre-bake the pastry for up to 10 minutes, until the pastry corners are just going golden.

Mix together the miso, 2 tablespoons of the sugar, 1/4 teaspoon of the cinnamon, and the ginger in a medium bowl. Fold in the canned apple. When the pastry is ready, remove any pie weights and divide this mixture evenly into the four pie dishes.

Remove the core from the apple and slice it into thin wedges. Arrange the slices decoratively across the pies. Sprinkle over the remaining cinnamon and sugar. Bake until the pastry is golden brown but not burnt, about 10-15 minutes.

While the pies are baking, transfer the top'n'fill to a microwave-safe bowl and heat for about 40 seconds. Whisk in the miso until smooth.

Serve the pies warm, generously drizzled with the miso caramel, with a scoop of icecream on the side.