Apple Custard Crisp (WSJ)

By ctaubenheim

Ingredients

• CRISP TOPPING
• 3/4 cup all purpose flour
• 1 Tbsp brown sugar
• 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4tsp fine sea salt
• 5 1/2 Tbsp cold unsalted butter, cubed
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• APPLE CUSTARD BASE
• 1 1/2 lbs Golden Delicious apples
• zest and juice of 1 juicy lemon
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
• Pinch of ground cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger or cardamom
• 1 large egg
• 1 large egg yolk

Details

Servings 8
Preparation time 30mins
Cooking time 90mins

Preparation

Step 1

CRISP TOPPING: IN a bowl, whisk together flour, both sugars, cinnamon and salt. Drop in cubes of cold butter and toss with fingers until butter is coated. Squeeze and rub ingredients together to form moist clumps and curds. Sprinkle with vanilla and toss to blend. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour and up to 4 days.

APPLE CUSTARD BASE: Preheat oven to 375 and set rack in center position. Place a deep dish 9 inch pie plate on a baking sheet lined with parchment to catch spills. Peel, halve, core and cut apples into 1 1/2 inch cubes. Transfer apples to pie plate. Stir in lemon zest and juice. In a medium bowl, whisk together cream, brown sugar, spice, egg and egg yolk to blend thoroughly, about 1 minute. Whisk in Calvados and vanilla. Pour custard over apples and jiggle pie plate to encourage custard to slide into all the spaces. Scatter the apple custard base with crisp topping and tap topping lightly with your fingers so it sticks. Transfer to oven and bake until crisp is golden brown and apples are tender, 50-60 minutes. If crisp appears to be browning too quickly, tent loosely with foil. Transfer baking sheet to a wire rack and let crisp rest at least 10 minutes before serving. Serve warm or at room temperature with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.