Tipsy apple pie with crispy meringue topping

Ingredients for 1 servings:

• 6 large apples
• 4 tbsp rum
• 2 pinches of cinnamon powder
• 200 g butter or margarine
• 300 g flour
• 100 g sugar
• 2 egg yolks
• 1 pinch of salt
• 2 packets of vanilla sugar
• 4 egg whites
• 200 g sugar
• 1 dashes lemon juice

Instructions

Working time approx. 40 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 1 hour; Total time approx. 1 hour 40 minutes

Peel, core, and slice the apples. Mix the apple pieces with the cinnamon and rum and let them sit while you knead the dough. If you like, you can add a little more rum, but you have to pay attention to the amount of liquid. Knead the dough ingredients into a shortcrust pastry and press it into a greased springform pan, pulling up the edges as you go. I put a sheet of baking paper between the dough ingredients so that any liquid that comes out during baking is caught and doesn’t drip into the oven. Place the apples on the dough. Bake for 30-35 minutes in the lower third of the oven preheated to 200°C (top and bottom heat). About 15 minutes before the end of baking, beat the egg whites for about 30 seconds, then slowly add the sugar. Once the mixture is creamy, add the lemon juice and stir until the cake is completely creamy and fluffy. Remove the cake from the oven, spread the egg white mixture over the apples, or pipe it onto the cake using a piping nozzle if desired. Reduce the temperature to 150°C (top heat) and return the cake to the oven on the middle rack for another 30 minutes. Depending on your oven, this may take a few minutes longer or less. It’s best to keep an eye on the meringue to make sure it’s really crispy.