Apple Pie with Apricot Glaze

This apple pie takes a French patisserie turn with two layers most American apple pies skip: a vanilla custard pastry cream poured over the apples, and a glossy apricot preserve layer painted on just before the top crust goes down.

The custard layer is the genius move. As the pie bakes, the milk-and-egg-yolk pastry cream sets into a silky cushion that catches the apple juices and prevents the dreaded soggy bottom. The apricot preserves do double duty: they add sweet-tart contrast and seal the apples beneath a glaze that keeps them from drying out under the top crust.

Use Granny Smith apples for their tartness and their refusal to fall apart in the heat. Pre-sauteing the apples in margarine, sugar, and nutmeg knocks them down to almost-tender so the filling cooks through evenly without a mound of raw apple in the center.

Pro Tips

• Temper the egg yolks slowly when adding to the hot milk-flour mixture. Pour a small amount of hot mix into the yolks first, whisking constantly, then return everything to the pan. Going too fast scrambles the eggs.
• Cool the pastry cream completely before pouring over the apples. A hot custard layer would melt and merge into the apple juices instead of staying as a distinct layer.
• Use real butter instead of margarine if you can. The flavor difference in the pastry cream is significant.
• Brush the egg yolk wash thinly and evenly over the top crust. Pooled spots burn before the rest of the pastry browns.

Variations

• Swap apricot preserves for raspberry or peach. Both work beautifully with apple.
• Use Honeycrisp or Pink Lady apples along with Granny Smith for a sweeter, more complex apple flavor.
• Add a tablespoon of Calvados or apple brandy to the pastry cream for a grown-up version.