Hot Skillet Apple Pie with Brandy Sauce

Ingredients

Brandy sauce (about 1 cup)

• ½ cup unsalted butter (1 stick)
• ¾ cup packed brown sugar
• ¼ cup heavy cream
• ¼ cup brandy or bourbon
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ¼ teaspoon kosher salt

To assemble

• 1 (9-inch) apple pie, baked (homemade or store-bought)
• 1 pint French vanilla ice cream
• Ground cinnamon, for dusting

Instructions

1. Make the brandy sauce. Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the brown sugar and cook 2 minutes, until smooth and bubbly. Whisk in the cream and bring to a simmer. Off the heat, carefully add the brandy (it can flame — keep your face back). Stir in the vanilla and salt. Set aside and keep warm.
2. Heat the skillets. Place 4 small cast iron skillets (or 1 large oven-safe skillet) in a 425°F oven for 10 minutes — they need to be very hot.
3. Slice the pie into 4 thick wedges.
4. Plate and serve immediately. Pull a hot skillet from the oven with a thick mitt — it’s blistering. Slide a slice of pie onto the skillet. Drizzle 2 to 3 tablespoons of brandy sauce over and around the pie; it will sizzle and caramelize. Top with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and dust with cinnamon.
5. Walk it to the table fast — the sizzle, the melting ice cream and the smell are the whole point.

Chef’s Tips

• Get the skillet very hot. The sauce only caramelizes on a truly hot pan — under 400°F, no sizzle.
• Safety first: the skillets are dangerously hot. Set each one on a wooden trivet or fajita board and tell everyone not to touch.
• No cast iron? A heatproof ceramic plate warmed in the oven works — less drama, but it works.
• Variation: swap the brandy for spiced rum and add a pinch of cinnamon and clove to the sauce.
• No pie? Use a warm slice of pound cake or even cinnamon-sugar toast — same sauce, same effect.
• Make extra sauce. It keeps well; double the batch and freeze half.

Storage & Make-Ahead

• Brandy sauce keeps 2 weeks in the fridge. Reheat gently in a saucepan or microwave — don’t boil.
• Pie is fine 2 to 3 days in the fridge; warm a slice in a 325°F oven for 8 minutes before sizzling.

From Ernie’s Kitchen