If you ask the general public what their favorite way to eat apple pie is, I am sure their answer will include a large scoop of really good vanilla ice cream. This delicious method of serving pie came to be known as Pie a la Mode. The person who created this unique and delicious serving method is wildly contested, but scholars have reviewed historical documents and have agreed that this ethereal creation was attributed to a man named John Gieriet, who owned the Hotel la Perl in Duluth Minnesota. Originally, the pie served this way was blueberry and not apple, and the phrase a la mode was a French exclamation that meant a modern version of serving pie. So when someone asked for pie a la mode, they were asking for pie the modern (or fashionable) way. That was back in the late 1880’s, and the trend continued to gain in popularity. We know that it was also served at the 1893 World’s Fair in Chicago where restaurants were serving up slices of pie with a scoop of ice cream on top. It didn’t take them long to pick up on a good thing…
Well, I can honestly say that you can count me in with the a la mode group — I would also add that I like my pie to be slightly warm. The contrasting temperatures and the addition of the ice cream make the final result so very sinful.
With apples being so plentiful this time of the year, I bought several bags of organic galas, which I planned to turn into my homemade apple pie filling. I love to use this filling in so many ways and I was looking for something unique to serve for Christmas.
While planning my upcoming recipes, my mind began to wander to apple pie. I’m not a big pie maker, but I do love to eat pie – especially apple. I needed one more dessert for Christmas so I decided to incorporate all of my favorite items into one dessert — apple pie ice cream. I had heard of apple pie milk shakes, but I had never heard of apple pie ice cream. With each component being delicious in its own right, how could you go wrong? As the apples cook, they create their own caramel sauce, and all you need is to pre-bake some pie dough pieces and fold that in to your ice cream.
I decided to use a different procedure this time around than the traditional semifreddo recipe that I use. It requires an extra step by making a softball syrup that gets poured into the egg yolks, and the result is truly well worth it. If you don’t want to take this extra step you can use the original method, but this makes it so much creamier. I also bumped up the whipped cream to 1 1/2 cups to offset the sweetness. The result is incredible – it’s every bit apple pie and every bit vanilla ice cream in every single way. Maybe, just maybe…this will become the new way to serve pie a la mode.
Apple Pie Ice Cream
1 recipe apple pie filling
1 pie crust, prebaked and cut into small pieces (about 2 cups)
Vanilla Semifreddo
8 yolks
1 tablespoon vanilla
3/4 cup sugar
3 ounces corn syrup
1/4 cup water
1 1/2 cups heavy cream, whipped but not sweetened
First make the apple pie filling and allow it to cool completely. Pre-bake the pie crust until it is golden brown and break it up into small pieces. I removed the thick pie edges and cut the thinner parts into small pieces and set them aside.
Separate the yolks and add them to the bowl (along with the vanilla) of your stand mixer.
Add the sugar, corn syrup and water to a small stock pot and heat to softball stage. Because it is such a small quantity, this happens fairly quickly, so make sure to not leave this unattended. Using your whisk attachment, begin whipping your yolks and then slowly pour the syrup into the egg yolks until they are all incorporated. Let the mixture beat this on moderate speed until the mixture is cool and the yolks are pale yellow and fluffy.
Fold in the whipped cream until it is all mixed well.
Pour half of this mixture into your storage bowl, then add half of the apple filling and half of the baked pie crust. Repeat until all of the components have been added to the container and then use a spoon to gently mix it all together. Cover and chill for at least 4 hours or overnight.
Bits of pie crust and apple filling all together with some of the creamiest vanilla ice cream you have ever had…
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