Senna Janssen’s Orange Apple Pie with orange curd, apricot and ginger, topped with yoghurt cream and crunchy baked almonds. Photo Senna Janssen Senna Janssen is a PhD student with the Food Physics (FPH) and Physical Chemistry and Soft Matter (PCC) groups and a dedicated baker. Het Orange Apple Pie earned her a ticket to the finals of the Best Kanzi Apple Pie of the Netherlands competition on 21 February of this year.
You may know Senna Janssen as the winner of the first ‘Great WUR Bake Off’ or as a member of the jury in the second edition. Moreover, her recipe for mango apple crumble pie was published in our Flavours of WUR section.
How did you learn about this competition?
‘I am quite a fanatical baker and passionate about baking competitions. This is not the first competition I have entered into. I have joined the HEMA competitions, which take place every five years, several times. The winning cake is included in their range. I have not yet managed to win any of these competitions, but I did win the ‘Great WUR Bake Off’ in 2023.’
How did you prepare?
‘Through a lot of baking. I honestly made so many different apple pies. Most of which I shared with my colleagues. Each pie was better than the previous one.’
What was the selection round like?
‘There were three selection rounds. I joined the one in Echteld at a Kanzi farmer’s location on a Wednesday in December. I had taken the previous day off to bake my cake, which I brought to Echteld. There, the pie was tested by, among others, Rutger van den Broek – the first winner of the Great Dutch Bake Off. I did not know at the time whether the pie had turned out as well as the previous three times I baked it in preparation.’
What is special about your apple pie?
‘My apple pie was the only one with a cream topping. I made a fresh yoghurt cream. I also avoided the traditional “warm” flavour associated with apple pie, such as cinnamon. My theme was orange apples with orange curd, apricot and ginger. And some crunchy baked almonds on top. That made my apple pie taste very fresh.’
Have you tweaked your recipe since the selection round?
‘You are expected to bake the same pie for the finals, but you can use the feedback they give you. In my case, they tasted slightly too much starch in the apple compote. Probably because I mixed some custard into my apples, I may have used a bit much or failed to mix it well enough.’
Does your WUR expertise help you in your baking?
‘My knowledge of food technology helps me assess why something doesn’t work during the baking process. I enjoy thinking it through and discussing it with my colleagues. They are now also helping me analyse the starch issue. Could it be something other than the custard? I will continue testing and perfecting the recipe for the finals.’
