This Crazy Crust Apple Pie has a crazy crust since you don’t have to create one at all. It’s a crust-free technique, but the end result is a fully crusted pie. It was pure insane magic, and I would never have known about it if I hadn’t discovered this recipe card.

This card came to me as part of the Recipe Tin Project, which involves cooking my way through an antique recipe tin filled with vintage recipes. But you may have already guessed that. It’s packed of old recipe cards, the majority of which appear to be from the 1960s and 1970s, though some are earlier. I adore food history, and the goal is to give these old recipes new life while also learning a trick or two along the way. The recipes are from various persons with varying handwriting; some include lovely pictures, while others are on plain (sometimes dirty and discolored) index cards.

This recipe is written on the back of an unlined index card. It is also written vertically, which I believe is the first time I have seen that orientation on a card. An unexpected usage for an index card! I like it. It’s reasonably smeared, which I like to assume indicates that it was also reasonably well loved. While some antique recipe cards can be difficult to interpret, this one has ingredients and processes stated in an easy-to-follow format, which I always like.

So you don’t need a pie crust. Instead, you’ll need flour, baking powder, sugar, salt, egg, shortening, and water. That is the “crust.” Beyond that, you will need apple pie filling, lemon juice, and cinnamon.You just combine the crust ingredients with a hand mixer and pour into a pie pan. Then you pour the filling into the center of the batter without stirring. If the filling is excessively mounded in the center, you can smooth it out slightly.

And then you bake. For approximately 45 minutes in a 425-degree oven.And in that oven, magic occurs. The batter bakes to form a gorgeous crisp golden ring around the filling and also lines the bottom. It’s cakier than a typical crust, but it holds up well to a sweet fruit filling, even if the slices are a little sloppy. It’s more like cobbler than a true pie, but it’s an excellent method to get a pie on the table quickly when you need one!