Apple Crumble and Custard

I pinned this easy apple crumble recipe a couple of weeks ago from The Food Fox and couldn't wait to make it.  Growing up in England fruit crumbles (my favourite being rhubarb) and custard were a staple sunday night pudding in our house, of course back then the custard my mum made was Birds custard, but these days nothing beats the creme anglaise recipe from SaraBeth's Bakery. 

4  granny smith apples, skinned, cored and diced
4 tsp sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
4 tbsp butter
2 tsp lemon juice
1 cup all purpose flour
4 tbsp cold butter, cut into small cubes
1/4 cup sugar

Preheat oven to 350.

In a baking dish or pie plate, place the diced apple, sprinkle with cinnamon, sugar and lemon juice.  Top with the butter.

To make the crumble, in a small bowl combine the flour, sugar and cold butter cubes and rub together with your fingertips until mixture looks like sand.

Sprinkle the crumble mixture over the apples and bake for 30 minutes.  After 30 minutes raise the oven to 400 and bake for a further 15 minutes.

Creme Anglaise
1.5 cups heavy cream
1.5 cups whole milk
3/4 cup sugar
Seeds from 1 plumped Vanilla Bean (vanilla beans plumped in rum for at least 2 weeks)
8 large egg yolks

Pour the cream and milk into a saucepan, and add the sugar. Scrape the seeds from the vanilla beans and add to the milk, then split the vanilla beans in half and add that to the milk also. Whisk the egg yolks in a large bowl and leave near the stove. Place a sieve over a second large bowl.

Heat the cream mixture over medium heat, stirring often to dissolve the sugar, until the mixture is very hot but not boiling. Slowly whisk half of the cream mixture into the yolks. Pour this mixture back into the saucepan. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until the crème anglaise is thick enough to coat the spatula. Pour through the sieve to remove the vanilla beans and any cooked egg pieces, leave to cool for 15 minutes.

Linked to: Serendipity and Spice, Sew Can Do, Making the World Cuter, Sumo's Sweet Stuff, Ninth Street Notions, Eye Heart, Crazy For Crust, Chef In Training