Whipped cream or vanilla ice cream(optional, but well worth it, for serving)
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350 F.
Make the streusel topping: Combine the 1⁄3 cup of granulated sugar, the brown sugar, 1⁄2 cup plus 2 tablespoons of flour, 1 teaspoon of cinnamon, the ginger, and salt in a food processor and give it a good whirl. Add the pieces of butter and pulse until the butter is incorporated and the mixture is crumbly. Do not overprocess; you don’t want a paste. Set the streusel topping aside.
Make the pie: Put the apples in the pie shell.
Combine the 1 cup of granulated sugar, the 3 tablespoons of flour, the 1⁄2 teaspoon of cinnamon, and the cloves in a small bowl.
Beat the egg in a large bowl, then add the cream and vanilla and blend well. Add the sugar mixture to the egg mixture and stir to blend. Pour the custard mixture over the apples; if the mixture comes more than three-quarters of the way up the side of the crust, stop pouring so it won’t bubble up and overflow.
Place the pie on a baking sheet in the oven and bake it for 20 minutes. Carefully remove the pie from the oven, making sure the custard mixture doesn’t pour over the side. Evenly and carefully (take your time), distribute the streusel topping over the top of the pie. Carefully (again) return it to the oven and bake until the top is browned and a knife inserted into the pie ensures that the apples are cooked through, about 50 minutes longer.
Let the pie cool on a wire rack for at least 45 minutes until room temp or barely warm, then serve with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream, if desired (and who wouldn’t desire that?).
Notes
If you don’t have a food processor, you can make the streusel topping by using your fingers to rub the cold butter into the dry ingredients until the topping is fairly uniform and crumbly.
It is a good idea to put a baking sheet under the pie pan as it bakes (you can put it right under the pie pan or on a rack below if you have the oven space), as the streusel topping can tend to bubble over the side a bit. Trust me when I tell you that your kitchen will get more than a little bit smoky if that happens.
Make sure the pie cools on a wire rack until it is either just barely warm or comes to room temperature. The custard will then have a chance to firm up. If you cut the pie while it is still too warm the filling will be loose and not hold together into slices.
Slice the pie with a sharp knife to get the neatest pieces.