Apple Pie with
Custard Ice Cream

During the holiday season, a decadent spiced apple filling, crisp buttery crumble, custard ice cream and a warm rum sauce will be the perfect dessert for a cold evening by the fire. You may wish to add a ⅓ cup finely chopped pecans to the crumble.

Custard Ice Cream


    1 cup half-and-half
    2 tablespoons custard powder
    ⅔ cup granulated sugar
    1 ½ cups half-and-half
    ½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Apple Pie

    3 Granny Smith or Braeburn apples, peeled and sliced thinly
    ¼ cup water
    ¼ cup currants
    ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
    1 teaspoon apple pie spice
    1 tablespoon dark brown sugar
    1 ½ teaspoons cornstarch

    1 tablespoon cold water


Crumble

    1 cup all-purpose flour
    ½ cup butter, softened
    ¼ cup granulated sugar

Rum Sauce

⅔ cups dark brown sugar
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons water
¼ teaspoon imitation rum flavoring
¼ teaspoon vanilla extract

1.  Preheat the oven to 350 .

2.  Custard ice cream: In a 2-quart saucepan, whisk the first
      cup half-and-half with custard powder and sugar. Heat on     
      medium until thickened, whisking frequently. Whisk in
      second half-and-half and vanilla extract. Set in a bowl of ice
      to cool quickly. Freeze 30 minutes in an ice cream maker.

3.  Apple pie: In a 3-quart saucepan, over medium heat, cook  
     apples, water, currants, vanilla, apple pie spice and sugar for
     10 minutes. Stir in the cornstarch mixed with water, cook
     until thickened. Pour into a 9-inch pie plate.

4.  Crumble: In a medium bowl, mix the flour, butter, sugar and
     optional chopped nuts until crumbly. Sprinkle over apples
     and bake in a preheated oven for 25 minutes.

5.  Rum sauce: In a 1-quart saucepan, use a wooden spoon to     
     mix the brown sugar, butter and water. Heat over medium
     until sauce reaches 200 . Stir in rum and vanilla.

6.  Serve spoonfuls of apple pie with a scoop of ice cream and a          
     drizzling of rum butter. Simply Divine!

     Hint: A creamy hot custard may be made by whisking 1 cup
     whipping cream, 1 cup whole milk, ⅓ cup sugar and
     4 tablespoons custard powder in a 2-quart saucepan. Heat
     over medium heat, stirring with a whisk, until thickened.
     Custard powder is also available through Protea Imports.
 
     Makes 4 to 6 servings