French Apple-Custard Pie
from http://www.cuisinerecipes.com/
Pink Lady apples are the best choice for this pie. They're crisp, crunchy, sweet, and tart — and available year-round.
For the filling:
2 Tbsp. unsalted butter
2 lb. baking apples such as Pink Lady or Honeycrisp, peeled, cored, and thinly sliced (4–6 total)
2 Tbsp. sugar
1 Tbsp. dark rum (optional)
1⁄4 tsp. table salt, divided
1 recipe Perfect Pastry Dough (see recipe below), made into a single 9-inch crust and blind-baked
2 eggs
2 egg yolks
1 cup heavy cream
1⁄2 cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1⁄8 tsp. ground nutmeg
For the almond topping:
1 cup sliced almonds
1⁄3 cup sugar
2 Tbsp. unsalted butter, softened
Pinch of table salt
Preheat oven to 325°.
For the filling, melt 2 Tbsp. butter in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Add apples and 2 Tbsp. sugar; sauté until apples are soft but not mushy, 8–10 minutes. Stir in rum and 1⁄8 tsp. salt. Spread apples over the bottom of the blind-baked crust.
Whisk together eggs, egg yolks, cream, 1⁄2 cup sugar, vanilla, nutmeg, and remaining 1⁄8 tsp. salt; pour over apples in pie crust. Bake pie until custard is barely set in center, about 30 minutes.
For the almond topping, combine almonds, 1⁄3 cup sugar, and 2 Tbsp. softened butter in a bowl. Remove pie from oven; sprinkle with topping. Cover pie with a pie shield if the edge of the crust seems to be overbrowning.
Return pie to oven; bake until custard is almost set but still slightly jiggly in the center, 15–20 minutes more. Completely cool pie before slicing, or chill pie, then bring to room temperature when ready to serve.
8 servings
Perfect Pastry Dough
This recipe makes one single prebaked 9-inch crust, but it easily can be doubled. Use this recipe for any pie calling for a baked crust.
1 1⁄4 cups all-purpose flour
2 Tbsp. sugar
1⁄4 tsp. table salt
4 Tbsp. cold cream cheese, cubed
4 Tbsp. cold unsalted butter, cubed
2 Tbsp. cold shortening, cubed
3 Tbsp. ice water
Pulse flour, sugar, and salt in a food processor until combined. Add cream cheese, butter, and shortening; pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add ice water; pulse just until dough forms around the blade. Wrap dough in plastic wrap, pressing dough into the shape of a disk. Refrigerate dough at least 1 hour or up to 3 days.
Use dough as directed in your recipe, or continue to prepare a prebaked 9-inch crust.
Coat a 9-inch pie plate with nonstick spray; set aside.
On a lightly floured work surface, use a rolling pin to roll dough into a 14-inch circle about 1⁄4-inch thick. Flip dough over often to prevent sticking, dusting it lightly with flour as needed.
Fold dough into quarters, then unfold it into the prepared pie plate. Adjust dough to fit, pressing it lightly against the bottom and sides of the plate. Try not to stretch dough.
Using scissors, trim all but a 1⁄2- to 1-inch overhang around the edge of the pie plate. Turn pastry edges under and crimp. Chill shaped pie crust until it’s cold and firm, at least 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 400°, adjusting oven rack to lowest position. Line chilled pastry with foil, pressing foil firmly against sides of the pastry and gently folding foil over the edge of the pie plate. Fill foil-lined pastry with dried beans or rice.
Blind-bake pastry until crust is set but not browned, 18–20 minutes. Carefully unfold foil at edges; lift out foil and dried beans or rice. Return crust to oven; bake until pastry is pale golden, about 5 minutes. Remove crust from oven. Use prebaked crust for the French Apple-Custard Pie.
