Food Postcard: Simply the Best Apple Pie

On the southern corner of the Noordermarkt square in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, is an apple pie that may even taste better than the one your grandmother bakes.

It’s a bold statement but when the flavour of a buttery crust paired with thick-cut autumn apples, their taste perfectly balanced between tart and sweet and delicately spiced with cinnamon, rolls across your tongue, you’ll realise that it’s true.

On any given sunny day the benches at tables both inside and outside of Winkel 43 are full and with one glance it’s obvious that everyone comes for the apple pie. Usually served with a generous dollop of freshly-whipped cream and a frothy cappuccino or latte, there are always several plates on every table and it’s what Winkel 43 is most famous for.

On Friday nights the café’s bakers work into the wee hours of the morning to prepare for the apple pie rush that inevitably comes during the Saturday Noordermarkt flea market, a place to shop for antiques, bric-a-brac, used books, and clothes. Adjacent to the flea market is the Boerenmarkt, a biological farmers market where you can pick up some in-season apples to try your hand at baking your own apple pie.

The Noordermarkt is a historical feature of Amsterdam’s Jordaan neighbourhood and dates back to 1616. It is dominated in one corner by the Noorderkerk, a Protestant church built in 1623, and is a tasty meeting point before, during, or after a day out in Amsterdam.

To keep up with demand on market days, Winkel 43 needs between 80 and 100 apple pies and the weekly average is near 300. With eight slices in every pie, around 2400 slices are served each week. Apple pie is practically flying out of their kitchen and hopefully one will soon land on a table in front of you.

  Amsterdam, apple pie, cafe, Food, Noordermarkt, Winkel43