Apple pie for cheesecake lovers

Salamanders, 28 Clothier St E, Kemptville, Ontario

I once stayed in a hotel where the "American Plan" menu offered the choice between two different kinds of cheesecake for dessert, every day. I can only assume they did that because cheesecake is very popular with many people. Or maybe the cook liked it very much himself :-)

Personally, I try to stay away from heavy desserts after a filling meal, but in this case, I just had to try the "Annapolis Valley Apple Torte" at Salamanders, one of the excellent restaurants in Kemptville, Ontario. (Not to be confused with Kemptville, Nova Scotia, which by the way isn't located in the Annapolis Valley either.)

Salamanders has a patio that overlooks the Kemptville Creek, a tributary of the Rideau River. The weather was beautiful when we sat there, maybe one of the last gorgeous summer days before Labour Day.

The generous slice of apple torte came beautifully decorated with whipping cream and a scoop of ice cream. As is my rule, I will concentrate on the pie itself.



Layered on top of the crust were raspberry jam, cheesecake, fresh apple slices with cinnamon, a top crust and finally, sliced almonds.

The crusts were not flakey but more like cake, which has my preference anyway. The overall consistency was firm, so that the slice kept its shape and didn't fall apart like some pies tend to do. The apples tasted really good and I must say the combination of flavours worked really well.



The only thing that disappointed be a bit, is that the raspberry/cheesecake flavours overpowered the apples. This really is an apple tart for cheesecake lovers. But if you like both kinds of dessert, this combination cannot be beaten.

And if you had one of their tasty lunches and this dessert is too big for you, they will let you take the leftover piece home to enjoy later.