Warm Fall Apple Crumble

A couple weeks ago, I went apple picking for the first time. Not that I had never picked an apple right from a tree before, but I had never driven to an orchard with friends to do exclusively that. As it turns out, apple picking is a quintessential fall activity here in America. And after this past week, I finally understand why.

We wandered through tree-lined alleys and filled buckets and buckets of apples – while eating our fair share right from the trees. Trust me, it doesn’t get any sweeter than biting right into them!

We also hit the orchard’s farmer’s market, which was full of apple-flavored delicacies. Think caramel-apples covered in sprinkles, warm apple cider donuts, freshly pressed apple cider (hot or cold), jarred apple butter and apple sauce, and apple pies among much more. Since this orchard also had a pumpkin harvest, pumpkin butter and pumpkin pies were aplenty too.

We’ve been trying to go through our massive stock of apples since we got back, but the box just doesn’t seem to deplenish. It’s like it’s a “giving box” or something. Everytime I eat one, I feel like another one grows right back… In any case, I figured I’d bake some before they went bad and made my favorite dessert: warm apple crumble. This recipe is one of our go-to desserts back home because it’s fail proof and always a crowd pleaser. It also allows us to use the apples that grow in our backyard, which are a little too acidic to be enjoyed raw. Cooking them down with a sugary crust turns out to be a perfect use for them!

This recipe warms me up inside bite after bite. It never, ever fails to make me feel good. I absolutely love to dig through the crisp crust and slowly scoop the melted caramelized apples. It makes for a great balance of textures in every spoonful. The crunchiness of the crust balances the “saucy” softness of the fruit. Yet, the apples’ slight acidity cuts into the sweetness of the crumbs. Add a scoop of vanilla ice cream and it will slowly melt and cool the warm apples down for a perfect bite. On that note, I’ll leave you to it. If apple picking is a quintessential fall activity, making this dessert comes in as a close second in my mind. It also truly honors the product in the best of ways. Bon appétit!

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Total time: 1 hr

Ingredients: 

• 6 small apples
• 1/4 cup oat flour (or 1/2 cup instead of AP flour)
• 1/4 cup AP flour
• 2-3 tbsp white sugar
• 3-4 tbsp salted butter

Directions:

1. Preheat the over to 350°F.
2. Peel the apples and dice them into small pieces.
3. Butter an oven-proof dish big enough for all the apples. Drizzle a very thin coat of sugar on the bottom (this will caramelize!). Add the apples and put them in the oven for about 30 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, prep the crust. In a large mixing bowl, add the dry ingredients: flour, sugar, almond powder and a pinch of salt.
5. Dice the cold butter into small pieces and incorporate them to the dry mix. You want to form sand-like crumbs, with some larger chunks. Add the vanilla extract to the mix.
6. When the apples are half cooked, take them out of the oven and top with the crust mix. Make sure you cover the dish evenly and put it back into the oven for another 20-30 minutes.
7. Serve warm, with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Enjoy!

“Crumble aux Pommes d’Automne”

Temps Total: 1 hr

Ingrédients: 

• 6 petites pommes
• 35g de farine d’avoine (ou 70g au lieu de farine de blé)
• 35g de farine de blé
• 30g de sucre en poudre
• 50g beurre salé

Étapes:

1. Préchauffez votre four à 200°C.
2. Pelez les pommes et coupez les en petits cubes.
3. Beurrez un plat allant au four – assez grand pour y mettre toutes les pommes – et saupoudrez-le très légèrement avec du sucre en poudre (ça caramélisera avec les pommes). Ajoutez alors les pommes et faites-les cuire pendant environ 30 minutes.
4. Pendant ce temps, préparez la croûte. Dans un grand bol, mélangez les ingrédients secs: farine, sucre, poudre d’amandes et une pincée de sel.
5. Découpez le beurre bien froid en petits cubes et incorporez-le aux ingrédients secs. Ajoutez l’extrait de vanille au mélange. La consistence devrait être sabloneuse, mais avec encore des gros morceaux.
6. Quand les pommes sont précuites, répartissez la pâte sur les pommes et remettez le plat au four pour environ 20-30 minutes de plus.
7. Servez le crumble chaud avec une boule de glace vanille. Bon appétit!

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