It's hard to top a classic apple pie, but this whole wheat pie crust sure does a good job of it!

Preparation

For the crust, small dice butter and shortening, then place them in the freezer while preparing the rest of the ingredients.

Place the all-purpose flour, whole wheat pastry flour, salt and sugar in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade, then pulse a few times to combine. Add butter and shortening and pulse 8–10 times, until butter is the size of chickpeas.

With the machine running, add 4 tablespoons ice water. Add remaining water 1 tablespoon at a time, just until the dough is moist enough to hold together when pinched between your fingers. Pulse the machine until the dough forms into a ball.

Place the dough on a lightly floured surface and pat into a disk. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Once chilled, divide dough in two and roll out into 9½-inch circles. Line a 9-inch pie pan with one circle and set remaining dough aside.

Preheat oven to 425°F.

For the filling, mix apples with sugar, cornstarch, salt, cinnamon, lemon peel and lemon juice—very tart apples may require more sugar, and very juicy ones may require more cornstarch. Let stand for 15 minutes.

Arrange a row of apple slices around the outer edge of the bottom crust, then arrange more rows in concentric circles. Pile remaining slices over rows, building the center higher than the sides. Pour lemon juice over the slices and dot with butter.

Fold top crust in half and carefully lay it over the apple filling. Trim and moisten the edge of the bottom crust with water and seal edges between fingers. Crimp edges with fork and cut a decorative pattern in the center to allow steam to escape.

Place pie on the lower shelf of preheated oven. After 15 minutes, reduce heat to 375°F and continue baking for 35 minutes, or until juices bubble from center vent cuts. Approximately 5 minutes before pie is finished baking, brush the top with cream and sprinkle with sugar.

Remove from oven to cool.