The original recipe calls for crème fraîche, but we liked this with ice cream. From “The Paley’s Place Cookbook,” by Vitaly Paley and Kimberly Paley with Robert Reynolds. Serves 6.
Ingredients
3 ounces cream cheese, cut into small chunks
6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into small chunks
3/4 cup all-purpose flour, plus extra for sprinkling
Pinch of salt
1 1/2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
3/4 cup Grade B pure maple syrup
1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/4 teaspoon freshly-grated nutmeg
2 1/2 pounds apples, peeled, cored and sliced 1/2-inch thick (about 6 medium apples)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
Directions
To make the dough, in the workbowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade, combine the cream cheese, butter, flour and salt. Pulse the mixture several times until it resembles cornmeal. Add the cream and pulse a few more times until the dough forms a ball. Flatten the dough into a 1-inch thick disk, wrap with plastic wrap and chill for at least 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 400.
In a bowl, whisk together the maple syrup, cornstarch, salt, cinnamon, allspice and nutmeg. Add the sliced apples and stir to coat well. Place the apple-maple syrup mixture into a 12-inch oval gratin dish with 2-inch sides (or other large, deep ovenproof dish) and dot the top with the 2 tablespoons of butter.
On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough into a one-eighth-inch thick square slightly larger than the baking dish. Lay the dough over the apples and turn the extra dough under itself along the edges. Using a sharp paring knife, lightly score the dough in a diamond pattern without cutting through it.
Place the pan on a baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes. Take the pandowdy out of the oven, and generously baste the crust with the juice from the apples underneath. The crust may break, which is OK. Return the pan to the oven and bake until the crust is golden brown and the apples and juices underneath are bubbling, another 15 to 20 minutes. Serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
