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French Custard Apple Pie

French custard apple pie with a flaky crust and creamy egg custard baked until set, topped with cinnamon sugar. Thin overlapping apple slices are arranged in concentric circles so the custard fills around every layer for a sliceable finish.
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Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 55 minutes
cooling 30 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 55 minutes
Servings: 8 servings
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: French-American
Calories: 430
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Pie crust
  • 1 refrigerated pie crust Use 1 refrigerated pie crust (or substitute homemade).
  • homemade pie crust Substitute for refrigerated pie crust if making from scratch.
Apples
  • 4 apples Peel and thinly slice.
Custard
  • 3 eggs
  • 0.75 cup heavy cream
  • 0.5 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 0.5 tsp cinnamon For the custard.
  • 0.25 tsp nutmeg
  • 2 tbsp apple brandy or calvados Optional.
Topping
  • 2 tbsp sugar For cinnamon sugar topping.
  • 0.5 tsp cinnamon For cinnamon sugar topping.
  • powdered sugar For serving (dust after cooling).

Equipment

  • 1 sheet pan
  • 1 Dutch oven

Method
 

Prepare and assemble
  1. Preheat the oven to 375F and fit the pie crust into a 9-inch pie dish, then crimp the edges.
  2. Arrange the sliced apples overlapping in the crust in concentric circles.
  3. Whisk together the eggs, heavy cream, granulated sugar, all-purpose flour, vanilla extract, cinnamon, nutmeg, and apple brandy or calvados (if using) until smooth.
  4. Pour the custard mixture over the apples so it fills around and between the slices.
  5. Sprinkle the top evenly with the cinnamon sugar topping.
Bake, cool, and serve
  1. Bake for 50-55 minutes at 375F until the custard is set and the top is golden.
  2. Cool the pie for 30 minutes, then dust with powdered sugar before serving.

Notes

For clean slices, let the pie cool fully until the custard is firm (about 30 minutes). Refrigerate leftovers in a covered container up to 3 days; freezer is not recommended. If you want a lighter custard, use half-and-half for the heavy cream (custard may be slightly softer after baking).