Rum Raisin Apple Custard Pie

Comfort food with a punch!

Rum Raisin Apple Custard Pie

1-1/2 apples peeled and chopped
1/4 cup raisins soaked in rum
1/4 cup walnuts chopped small
1/4 cup sugar
2 Tbl all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp of cinnamon
1/4 tsp of allspice
1/4 tsp of ground nutmeg

Custard:
4 eggs, beaten lightly
2 cups milk
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp salt
2 Tbl Meyers Dark Rum

The night before, place raisins in a cup and add rum until just covered. Let soak overnight and into the next day until raisins plump up. Preheat oven to 350°F. Peel and cut up apples into small pieces, place in bowl and stir in raisins and walnuts. In a separate bowl combine sugar, flour, and spices. Stir dry ingredients into fruit mixture and mix well. Pour filling into small greased baking dish and place in oven for 20 minutes or until apples start to soften. While apple filling is cooking, roll out dough and place in bottom of pie plate.

Increase oven temp to 400°F. Spread partially cooked apple filling evenly across bottom pie crust and put back in oven to cook for another 20 minutes. Make custard while it's baking. To make the custard: Add sugar and salt to lightly beaten eggs; add milk, vanilla and rum; mix to combine thoroughly.

TIP: Before pouring the custard onto the apple filling, gently smooth the cooked filling with the greased bottom of a measuring cup so that the filling is as smooth and flat as possible. Pour the custard on top carefully so as not to dislodge any apple pieces. Sprinkle generously with nutmeg. Bake at 400° for 35 to 45 minutes, or until knife inserted in center comes out clean. Cool on rack.

This recipe was inspired by a 2020 book called Pie Camp by Kate McDermott [Countryman Press]. Kate's Apple Rum Raisin Custard Pie sounded good, but I really like custard and I felt the apples played too large a role in her pie. I decided to downplay the apples, raisins, and nuts by making them a base for a delicious rum custard. When done correctly, the custard should be thick and unbroken on the top of the pie (roll over the image for a closeup), with the fruits and nuts a thinner layer on the bottom. It took me three tries to figure out a technique to keep the apples from floating up and mixing with the custard. The version you see in the photo does not have enough custard in my opinion. I increased the amount in the recipe and now it should make a good, thick, layer of yummy custardy goodness. Use your deepest pie dish.

Yo ho ho!

— The Pie Lady

The Pie Diaries was cooked up by Mary Osborn

To see more of her work, please visit www.mosborndesigns.com

Yo Ho Ho and a bottle o' Rum! • Dec 2020