French Apple-Custard Pie - cooking recipe

Ingredients

FOR THE FILLING
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 lbs baking apples, such as pink lady peeled, cored, and thinly sliced (4-6 apples) or 2 lbs honeycrisp apples, peeled, cored, and thinly sliced (4-6 apples)
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons dark rum (optional)
1/4 teaspoon table salt, divided
2 eggs
2 egg yolks
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
FOR THE CRUST
1 9-inch pie shell (placed in glass pie plate)
FOR THE ALMOND TOPPING
1 cup sliced almonds
1/3 cup sugar
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1 pinch table salt

Preparation

FOR THE APPLES & FILLING:
Preheat oven to 325\u00b0.
Melt the 2 tablespoons butter for the apple filling in a large saute pan over medium heat.
Add apples and 2 tablespoons sugar; saute until apples are soft but not mushy, 8 to 10 minutes.
Remove from heat & stir in rum and 1/8 teaspoons salt.
Spread apples over the bottom of the prebaked pie crust.
Thoroughly whisk together this mixture before pouring it over the apples in the crust: eggs, egg yolks, cream, 1/2 cup sugar, vanilla, nutmeg, and remaining 1/8 teaspoons salt; pour over apples in pie crust.
Bake pie until custard is barely set in center, about 30 minutes.
FOR THE ALMOND TOPPING:
Combine almonds, 1/3 cup sugar, and remaining 2 tablespoons butter for the almond topping in a bowl.
Remove pie from the oven; sprinkle pie with topping.
Cover pie with a pie shield if the edge of the crust seems to be overbrowning.
Return pie to oven; bake until custard is almost set but still slightly jiggly in the center, 15-20 minutes more.
Completely cool pie before slicing, or chill pie, then bring it to room temperature when ready to serve.
*Use a pie shield to prevent pie crust from burning. You can buy a premade shield or make your own. Fold a 9\" piece of 36\" wide foil into thirds so it measures 3x36\". Wrap it around the edge of the pie, crimping the shield where the ends of the foil meet.