Custard Apple Pie

This is the first pie that I was ever taught to make. I learned how to make it at Kids Swiss Kamp, a cultural heritage summer camp which my children now attend. Kids learn all kinds of things from cooking, baking, dancing, language, woodworking, and wrestling to name just a few things. This camp has been fully volunteer run since its inception and still nearly 30 years later is looked forward to by both adults and kids alike.

This pie was taught to me to be a traditional Swiss Apple Pie. Different from what most Americans know of as apple pie because rather than the apples being in a sweet sauce, the apples are suspended in a custard. I find this more appealing from a consistency prospective.

Ingredients:

Apples (2-3)- sliced thin with the skins removed

1/2 C Sugar

1 tsp cinnamon plus dash or two more if you like

3 eggs

1-1/2 C Heavy Cream

1 tsp Vanilla extract

1/4 tsp Salt

1- Pie crust

2 Tbsp Butter

Start with your favorite pie crust, my favorite pie crust or a pre-made store crust. You only need one crust for this pie.

Mix the cinnamon and sugar together and sprinkle some on the crust in the pie pan. On top of that add the thinly sliced apples. Typically I will slice the apples into wedges and layer them in the pie plate but today I was in a hurry so I just ran it through an apple slicer/spiralizer. After each layer of apples add another layer of cinnamon/sugar.

Now to make the custard filling. Start by beating your eggs together.

My lovely assistant Winnie was being very helpful. After the eggs are beaten add the cream, vanilla and salt. Mix well.

Pour this over the sliced apples making sure that it is evenly distributed. You don’t need to worry about filling the curst to the top. The custard will rise in the baking process.

Dot the top of the pie with butter. Bake for 10 minutes at 450 degrees, then reduce the temperature to 350 degrees and back for about 45 minutes. As with any custard filled pie you are going to want to do a jiggle test to make sure the center of the pie is set. Simply give the pie a jiggle and observe how the pie moves, if you get waves you need to bake longer. You want the center to move slightly, it will continue to set as it cools.

Too keep your edges from burning cover your pie with aluminum foil. Let the pie cool completely before cutting, and enjoy!