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The Batter Thickens

A food blog balancing sweet treats & healthy eats.

Apple Pie Ice Cream (Dairy Free and Regular)

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This ice cream is basically Apple Pie a la Mode, but it’s all in the Mode. I feel as though there is a joke to be made here. But if I call it something like “Just the Mode,” will people think that means just vanilla ice cream? Why do we not call ice cream “mode” more often?

First paragraph and I’m rambling already. I’ll cut it short. I’m just saying: this is ice cream with apple pie filling and Dutch crumb, so it’s the full package and you just have to scoop ice cream.

I made this ice cream two ways, because I will always cater to a family member’s request, and my brother wanted dairy-free ice cream. The dairy free base is made with cashew milk, which is less distinctive of a flavor than when you make dairy free ice cream with coconut milk.

The dairy-full version was super easy to pull together, because I just used my go-to no-churn recipe. It’s just so easy, and when I had leftover apple pie filling and Dutch crumb, as well as some leftover heavy cream, I knew I had to throw it together.

I have, admittedly, never been a huge apple pie person. I would never pass it up, though, so I think it’s more than I just forget about pies sometimes. So I just never seek them out. But this apple pie from last year was great. And I used some of the apple pie filling from this throwback Thanksgiving dessert, which was delicious.

So I think the lesson is, maybe I should keep apple pie more top of mind. Which I know sounds very silly, because to a lot of people apple pie is a quintessential dessert.

I’ve mentioned this to my family (and they have experienced it), but I’ve become much better at packing and planning desserts for our Thanksgiving trip. Ever since being within 5-hour driving distance of our destination, it’s become easier to think through which desserts can be made ahead and frozen to keep (like ice cream), or packing just the mise-en-place ingredients to bake when we get here without having to buy a whole pantry of ingredients. Because while I remember these Apple Pie Babycakes fondly, I remember they were quite a production to bake in our small kitchen here. But with a little extra planning, we can have great dessert all week and I can chill out while I’m here.

All this to say: cheers to logistics planning!

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Apple Pie Ice Cream (Dairy Free or Regular)

  • Author: Audrey
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Ingredients

Instructions

For the apple pie filling:

  • 2 medium Granny Smith apples
  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • ⅔ cup light brown sugar, tightly packed
  • ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • ¼ teaspoon kosher salt

For the Dutch crumb:

  • 3/4 cups all purpose flour
  • 2 tbsp granulated sugar
  • ¼ cup + 2 tbsp brown sugar, packed
  • 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 6 tbsp butter, melted

For the dairy free ice cream base:

  • 2 cups cashew milk, unsweetened and unflavored
  • 4 large egg yolks
  • 1/2 cup powdered sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla bean powder

For the regular, no-churn ice cream base:

  • 1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract or vanilla powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 2 ounces cream cheese, softened to room temperature
  • 2 cups heavy cream

Notes

For the apple pie filling:

  1. Peel the apples, then halve and quarter them. Put each apple quarter on its side and cut a small slice down the length of the apple to remove the seeds and core. Cut each apple quarter lengthwise into thirds and then crosswise into fourths, leaving you with 12 small pieces from every apple quarter.
  2. Combine the chopped apples in a medium pot with the butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Slowly bring a boil over medium heat, using a spoon to gently stir the mixture as it heats up and the apples begin to release liquid. Reduce the heat and simmer the apples gently for 3 to 5 minutes. Be careful not to cook the apples so much that they turn into applesauce. [I had a lot of liquid left, so I fished out the apples and reduced the remaining liquid by half for about 5 to 6 minutes. It created a more caramel-y apple filling.]
  3. Transfer to a container and put in the fridge to cool down. Once completely cooled, the filling can be stored in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 1 week; do not freeze

For the Dutch crumb:

  1. Combine all the ingredients for the Dutch crumb, and mix until there are no dry bits, but it’s crumbly. Sprinkle evenly onto a baking sheet lined with parchment or a Silpat. Bake at 375 for 25 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool.

To make the dairy-free ice cream base:

  1. Add the cashew milk in a small saucepan and place it over low heat. Once it simmers, remove it from the heat.
  2. In a mixing bowl, whisk together the egg yolks with powdered sugar and vanilla powder until combined. Gently whisk in the warm milk until combined. Be sure to do so carefully to ensure the egg yolks don’t get cooked.
  3. Transfer the mixture back into the saucepan and place back over low heat and let it simmer until it thickens.
  4. Transfer to a heat-safe bowl, allow to cool to room temperature, and then refrigerate it for at least 2 hours, or until chilled
  5. Once your components are prepped and your ice cream base is chilled, chilled, pour the ice cream base into an ice cream maker bowl and churn according to the ice cream maker instructions.
  6. When it’s done, scoop out and transfer to a Tupperware, adding in handfuls of crumb and dollops of apple pie filling as you go. Layer it all up, swirl it a bit if you’d like. Then cover the top with parchment paper and put in the freezer until completely frozen.

To make the regular ice cream base:

  1. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, beat cream cheese until well softened and spread around the bowl.  Add the heavy cream and whip on medium high until stiff peaks form. Add in salt and vanilla and whip until combined.
  2. Spoon a third of the whipped cream into the condensed milk and whisk to combine.  Add another third of the whipped cream to the condensed milk mixture and use a rubber spatula to fold to combine.  Add the final third and fold to combine.
  3. Spoon ice cream base into a 9×5-inch loaf pan or another Tupperware, layer and swirl with the apple pie filling and Dutch crumb. When it’s all int he Tupperware, smooth out the top and cover with parchment paper, and freeze for at least 4 hours or overnight.

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