Easy as Pie: Apple Custard

apple custard

I have apples on the brain lately.

All I think about at night are apple cakes, apple pies and apple desserts.
What the hell is wrong with me?
No wonder I can't sleep.

October is apple season here in the Northeast, and my friend Martha lives on a commercial fruit orchard in Germantown, NY.
As you know I get delicious baskets of peaches, pears, and those wondrous cherries during the season left on my porch.

Well, my apples arrived the other day, straight from the beautiful Hudson Valley, in New York State.

The variety was new to me, an apple called Liberty, as well as the usual crisp Empires.

I decided on a pie. (Tomorrow, I can bake that Polish apple walnut cake that I have bookmarked......).

This is not a traditional pie, but boy, was this easy to make and GOOD!

It is an apple custard pie. Yes, I said custard. The creamy custard made the pie very special, and I promise it was so simple. The hardest part was making the pastry.

I won't tell anyone if you use an all ready made pie crust, though it's so much better when you make your own.

I used only half the sugar the recipe called for, because I felt 1 cup of sugar was too much for a pie. It was sweet enough.
If you are using tart Granny Smith apples, then you may want to increase the amount of sugar to 3/4 cup.



Apple Custard Pie (I don't have a clue where this recipe came from!)

1 deep dish 9" pie crust, rolled out and fitted into a glass pie dish

4 apples, peeled and sliced
1/2 cup of sugar
1/2 tsp of cinnamon
1/2 tsp of salt

1 cup of heavy cream (I used half & half)
2 eggs
1 tsp of vanilla

2 tbsp butter, sliced and cut into small dice



In a 2 cup Pyrex measuring cup, pour in the cream, eggs and vanilla and whisk with a fork, set aside.

In a bowl, mix sugar, cinnamon and salt, set aside.

Preheat oven to 450F. Yes, I said 450F. I will explain later.

Lay half of your apples on the bottom of the prepared pie shell and sprinkle with half the cinnamon sugar mixture.
Pour half the cream mixture over this.



Now place another layer of apples on top of this and add the rest of the cinnamon sugar and pour in the rest of the cream, carefully.

Dot the top of the pie with the butter pieces and bake at 450 for only 10 minutes.
After 10 minutes, turn your oven down to 350F and bake for another 40 minutes, until top is golden and bubbly.

I had to cover the edges with aluminum foil because it was getting too brown, which often happens with buttery pie crust.



This was so damn delicious!
No a la mode needed!

Comments

Colloquial Cook said…
Wow - that sounds a lot like the archetype of the Alsacian tarte aux pommes :-)
I know, just tell me to shut up when you've had enough of my "wow that's alsacian" rubbish :-)
Ciao Chow Linda said…
Never had one of these before but it sure sounds yummy. How lucky are you to have a friend drop off all that fruit for you?
kat said…
Oh that does sound good, apple with that creamy custard, yum
Dana said…
We love our apples here in Washington State! This pie looks so good. I've never tried a custard pie but I love the sound of it.
Karen said…
I love a good custard pie... this looks delicious!
Jen_from_NJ said…
What a great friend! I have had apples on the mind as well. Guess it's that time of year! Apple custard sounds so good!
The JR said…
I have a weakness for custard. That pie looks great.

Ramona
Pam said…
I've never heard of an apple custard pie - it looks amazing!
Bluebird NY said…
I love the simplicity of this pie! The Empire & Liberty apples are so sweet - you did right to cut back on the sugar. Looking forward to trying out this recipe....
My hubby loves adores anything custard, he would go crazy for this. Unfortunately he would eat the whole thing!
Wow, this looks great!! Like apple pie but better!!

Sues
Melbourne Girl said…
YUMM. I've got some granny smiths so will try this at the weekend. Looks delish!

lesley
Wow! Can't think of two flavors that would go better together - that looks silky and delicious!
Foodiewife said…
Now that's what I'm talkin' about. Creaminess, apples, cinnamon...perfection!
vikcie j. said…
i have a recipe for this pie, but i have not made it in years... i think i was called amish apple pie i will have to look at it again...yours looks absolutely lovely... i also think i used an oil pastry for my custered apple pie....
Irene said…
That reminds me a bit of the French apple tart with cream - deeeeeeeeliiiiicious!
Dena said…
I am baking this as I type.
Carol said…
My mother-in-law introduced me to the Hiawatha Valley Apple Custard Pie in 1969. The recipe was included with a stoneware pie plate she purchased. There is some variation in amounts of ingredients (compared to your recipe) but basically the same. An AWESOME dessert! We had a piece for today's lunch. Carol
Ken said…
I made this yesterday on Halloween and the whole house smelled so good! Easy recipe. We ate it after the trick or treaters were done for the night, sooooo good!