CHILLED APPLE PIE WITH HOT ICE CREAM
Serves 6
This dish is one of my favorites from our first year. We took a classic dish and turned it upside down. First we make a creamy vanilla custard for the ice cream base. Then we make a chilled apple gel from homemade applesauce. We use Granny Smith apples so the gel has a sweet-tart flavor. Then we turn pie dough into a streusel crumb, bake it, and roll the squares of gel in the pie crust crumble. We warm up small pipettes of the custard for the diners to sauce their own plates, but at home you could just serve it as a warm custard sauce. We serve the hot ice cream with this bite of cold apple pie and it’s so comforting and delicious. It’s a huge, elaborate dessert in just one bite.
HOT ICE CREAM:
250 grams whole milk
30 grams sugar
1 gram salt
40 grams (about 2 large) egg yolks
10 grams vanilla bean seeds, scraped from 1 split vanilla bean
PIE CRUST CRUMBLE:
75 grams all-purpose flour
20 grams unsalted butter
10 grams sugar
1.5 grams salt
45 grams ice water
APPLESAUCE:
300 grams (about 3 medium) Granny Smith apples
75 grams water
30 grams sugar
2 grams salt
APPLESAUCE GEL:
200 grams Applesauce
1.75 grams agar
HOT ICE CREAM:
Before making the ice cream base, prepare an ice bath. Put the cream, sugar, and salt in a medium saucepot set over medium-low heat, stir well to dissolve the sugar, and bring the mixture to a simmer. Put the egg yolks in a medium bowl. Once the cream mixture comes to a simmer, whisk the egg yolks in their bowl. Working a little bit at a time and whisking constantly, slowly pour the hot liquid into the yolks, until about half of the liquid has been added and the yolks are warm. Return the pot with the cream mixture to the stove and pour the warm yolks into the hot cream, still whisking constantly. With the heat still set to medium-low, continue to whisk until the temperature reaches 175°F. Strain the mixture through a fine-mesh strainer into a stainless-steel bowl and stir in the vanilla bean seeds. Set the bowl in the ice bath, stirring constantly, to quickly chill the crème anglaise. Once completely cool, fill six 23-ml pipettes with the ice cream base. Reserve in the refrigerator.
PIE CRUST CRUMBLE:
Preheat the oven to 300°F.
Put the flour, butter, sugar, and salt in a food processor and pulse until small crumbs form in the mixture. Turn the processor on and slowly drizzle in the ice water just until the dough comes together. Place the dough between 2 sheets of parchment paper and then roll it out to a thickness of ¼ inch. Remove the top sheet of parchment paper and lay the bottom sheet with the dough on a sheet pan. Bake for 10 minutes.
Remove from the oven and let the pie crust cool completely. Break it into small pieces. Put the pie crust pieces in the food processor and pulse until a crumble is formed. The Pie Crust Crumble can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
APPLE SAUCE:
Wash the Granny Smith apples but do not peel them. Place on a cutting board and cut into medium dice, discarding the stems and cores. Combine the apples, water, sugar, and salt in a medium saucepot and cook over medium-low heat for 30 minutes, until the apples are soft and beginning to fall apart. Remove from the heat and transfer the softened apples to a blender; puree until smooth. Place the applesauce in a storage container and refrigerate until cool. Once cool, the Applesauce can be kept covered in the refrigerator for up to a week.
APPLESAUCE GEL:
Weigh out 200 grams of Applesauce and then whisk in the agar. Place the applesauce/agar mixture in a small saucepot and set over medium heat. Bring to a boil, stirring. Boil for 1 minute, stirring so that the applesauce doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan, to activate the agar. Remove from the heat.
Line a small baking dish with plastic wrap. Pour the Applesauce Gel into the container. Put in the refrigerator, uncovered, for a minimum of 1 hour to set. Remove the gelled applesauce and lift it out of the container. Discard the plastic wrap and dice the gel into ½-inch cubes. Just before serving, roll the apple cubes in the Pie Crust Crumble.
TO FINISH:
Bring a medium saucepot filled with water to a boil. Turn off the heat. Put the filled pipettes into the hot water. Let them sit in the hot water for 1 minute to heat up. Remove from the water. Wipe with paper towels to remove excess water from the pipettes. Place 1 piecrust-covered apple gel cube on the end of each pipette. Serve immediately.
