Southern Cream Apple Pie

This Southern cream apple pie is the cousin to a custard pie, not a fruit pie. Tart apples get parboiled with a little lemon juice for a few minutes, just enough to start tenderizing them, then folded into a sour cream custard with eggs, sugar, flour, and vanilla. Two deep-dish shells, full to the brim, into a hot oven.

The finishing move is what makes it Southern. After the pies bake to set, you crumble flour and butter together and dump it on top, then run them under the broiler until the buttery streusel bubbles and turns golden. Watch like a hawk. The line between toasted and burnt under a broiler is about 30 seconds.

Use genuinely tart apples like Granny Smith, Cortland, or Northern Spy. The sour cream filling needs the acid to balance, and sweet apples like Gala or Fuji turn the whole pie cloying.

Pro Tips

• Boil the apples just 3 to 5 minutes. They should yield slightly when poked but still hold their shape. Mush at this stage means a soggy pie.
• Drain the boiled apples thoroughly. Excess water dilutes the custard and prevents it from setting.
• Stand at the oven during the broiler step. The topping turns from raw to perfect to burnt in under a minute.
• Refrigerate leftover slices. The sour cream filling needs cold storage and the custard sets up beautifully overnight.

Variations

• Stir ½ cup chopped pecans or walnuts into the streusel topping for crunch.
• Add ¼ teaspoon nutmeg and ⅛ teaspoon cardamom to the filling for warmer spice.
• Drizzle the cooled pies with caramel sauce just before serving.