The Baker Chick

Sweet treats, Recipe and Tricks of the trade from this NYC gal and her itty-bitty NYC kitchen.

Brown Butter Apple Custard Pie

by 36 Comments

Brown Butter Apple Custard Pie

So I’ve been hinting at it for a few weeks but PIE WEEK is finally here! Whoopie! An entire week (well 3 days of it at least,) of delicious Pie Recipes from my fellow bloggers and me. My brain is in hard-core Thanksgiving dessert mode and so I hope you’re excited as I am for the week of inspiration.

Brown Butter Apple Custard PieI’m starting us off with a take on everyone’s favorite classic apple pie. This isn’t your run of the mill apple pie though, It is full of so many special touches like toasty brown butter, creamy custard and a crisp and crumbly cinnamon topping. This pie is both tart and sweet and possibly my new favorite twist on the classic. I served it over the weekend to some friends we had visiting and everyone agreed the different flavors and textures created something truly special. Each bite is layered with creamy apple pie goodness that I couldn’t get enough of.

I’ve tried it several ways since making it, room temperature, warm and cold straight from the fridge. I have to say that nothing quite compares to enjoying it cold as the custard somehow tastes even better and the  tart apples are even more refreshing. This also earns this pie major points in my book for being so easy to prepare in advance, cover well, and save for a day or two until ready to serve. Planning ahead is key for holiday prep wouldn’t you say?

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Brown Butter Apple Custard Pie
Yield: 1 9 inch pie
 
Ingredients
For the apples:
  • 4 medium-sized tart and firm apples, peeled and sliced (about 5 cups)
  • ¼ cup butter
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
For the custard:
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • ⅔ cup sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 4 tablespoons flour
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
For the topping:
  • ½ cup all purpose flour
  • ½ cup brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 3 tablespoons cold butter- cubed.
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 375F.
For the apples:
  1. In a medium-large sized saucepan, brown the butter over medium-high heat. (Once it is melted stir constantly until it is a toasty golden brown with dark specks.
  2. Add the spices into the butter and then gently add the apple slices, tossing in the butter spice mixture.
  3. Cook for about 5 minutes, or until apples have softened just slightly. Remove from heat and set aside.
For the custard:
  1. Whisk all the heavy cream, egg and vanilla extract until smooth. Add the sugar, flour and salt. Whisk until creamy and lump-free. Set aside.
For the topping:
  1. In a medium-sized bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar and cinnamon. Add the butter and use your hands to work it into the dry ingredients until it is crumbly with no pieces bigger than a pea.
To assemble:
  1. Roll out the pie crust and fit it into a 9 inch pie pan, crimping the edges with your fingers, the back of a knife, or a fork.
  2. Spread the apples evenly into the bottom of the crust. Pour the custard over the apples and sprinkle the crumb topping over the custard.
  3. Bake for 40-45 minutes, or until the crust is golden and the crumb topping is crisp with the filling bubbling around the edges.
  4. Let cool on a wire rack and enjoy warm or let cool completely and chill before serving.

 

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Comments

  2. Between the brown butter and the custard, this takes apple pie to a whole new level!! After seeing this I’m probably going to have to rethink my pie strategy for the big day…yum!

    Reply

  4. What better week is there than Pie Week? Cabot is thrilled to be part of the festivities! Now I have to get in the kitchen, because you’ve just taken Apple Pie to a whole new level of amazing!

    Reply

  6. This looks amazing!! I was playing around with a custard apple pie but couldn’t get the measurements down. Thanks for the recipe – made my Thanksgiving baking menu so much easier to tackle!

    Reply

  18. Brown butter in apple pie?? Now we’re talking! This is a great twist on the classic. Hooray for the first day of pie week, can’t wait to join you guys Wednesday :)

    Reply

  26. I’m so excited to try this (both baking and eating)! Quick question…I just want to make sure the recipe indicates to NOT heat the custard before putting it into the pie? It doesn’t say, but I just wanted to double check…Thanks!

    Reply

  27. Hey there! I’m making this right now, and the custard is overflowing…is this natural? I whipped it to about medium-thick peaks, and it’s just coming out all over the pie. Also, should I have baked the pie crust before?

    Reply

    • Hey Mark! Sorry for the confusion but the recipe says you’re just supposed to *whisk* the custard together until smooth- not whip it into soft or medium peaks. It must have increased way too much in volume.

      Also- no you don’t have to pre-bake the crust!

      Reply

  30. i made this and it was delicious and so easy!!! i’m a sucker for anything with brown butter and this was amazing!! i highly recommend it :)

    Reply

  31. So the custard is not cooked at all before the oven? I just attempted this pie for the first time and found the custard still completely liquid at the end of the process. All of the flavors were still wonderful, but I had no luck serving this in slices with the custard in that state.

    Reply

  32. Made this over the holidays and it was so good!! Delicious!! I used a pre-made graham cracker crust too which totally worked well with it! I would definitely make this again! And make sure that I have ice cream on hand the second time around!

    Reply

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