Run short of flour and butter or just too many apples at hand? Check out this Crisp Apple Crumble recipe and let nature do the rest!
Due to direct contact to heat the top generally crisped up hence comes the American name Crisp as in Apple crisp that many of us are more familiar with. Those who are more verged in the lore of baking call the top neither crisp or crumble but streusel.
Streusel is a crumbly topping of flour butter and some sort of sweetener, traditionally sugar. The word itself comes from German and simply means “sprinkled” which is exactly what we do with it on top of cakes, muffins, breads, and pies.
Although nowadays food rationing is as farfetched idea to many as buying seasonal fruits, thanks to economics and the rules of supply and demand apple crisps or crumbles are still largely made during the autumn harvest of apples where the high supply pushes prices down and people don’t mind buying larger amounts of them to bake them away.
It’s worth to mention though that similarly to apple pies, apple turnovers or apple cake, apple crisps don’t require the prettiest and crispiest of apples. Any that has been left behind would do to be shredded, sliced, and then snug under buttery starch.
Once out of our oven and left on its own to roam in the wild, probably won’t have much chance to survive. So always keep in mind to create them in pairs so they both have an opportunity not just to be free but be happy until the end of their time.
Ingredients
- 3 lb / 1.5 kg Apple
- 1 piece Lemon
- Sweetener of choice to taste (optional)
- 3 tablespoon / 50g Butter
- ⅞ cup / 100g Plain flour
Kitchen utensils
- 8″ x 8″ / 20.5cm x 20.5cm Baking dish
How to make Apple crumble – Apple Crisp
- Peel and core apples. Chop them up into 1″ / 3cm chunks. Rinse them beforehand so we can eat the skin and core or use them up later. To keep the apple chunks from browning, mix them gently with lemon juice.
- Place them into a saucepan with some grated lemon zest on medium heat. Some like to add sweetener but those, who kicked sugar already, won’t need it at all. Put the lid on and cook the apples until softened, about 10 – 15 minutes.
- Meanwhile the apples are being cooked, measure cold butter and flour in a mixing bowl. Add sweetener of choice if desired. Press and knead and rub them together by hand until desired size crumbs are produced. Pressing them together makes bigger while rubbing them will produce smaller crumbs. If the butter warms up, crumbs would become smaller and smaller until we’ll end up with a pie crust. Popping the crumbs into the fridge until the butter cools down will give us a fresh start if needed. Don’t add water!
- Transfer apples into a baking dish that doesn’t allow liquid to seep out. Smaller size dishes will make thicker layers while bigger dishes thinner ones but none will affect the end results.
- Sprinkle over the crumble topping.
- Bake in the middle rack of 390°F / 200°C preheated oven until golden brown, about 30 – 40 minutes. Letting it cool off before serving makes it easier to take the slices out and prettier too. Serve it with custard or vanilla ice cream.
Enjoy!
Apple Crumble – Apple Crisp Recipe
Equipment
- 8″ x 8″ / 20.5cm x 20.5cm Baking dish
Ingredients
- 3 lb Apple
- 1 piece Lemon
- Sweetener of choice to taste optional
- 3 tablespoon Butter
- ⅞ cup Plain flour
Instructions
- Peel and core apples. Chop them up into 1″ / 3cm chunks. Rinse them beforehand so we can eat the skin and core or use them up later. To keep the apple chunks from browning, mix them gently with lemon juice.
- Place them into a saucepan with some grated lemon zest on medium heat. Some like to add sweetener but those, who kicked sugar already, won’t need it at all. Put the lid on and cook the apples until softened, about 10 – 15 minutes.
- Meanwhile the apples are being cooked, measure cold butter and flour in a mixing bowl. Add sweetener of choice if desired. Press and knead and rub them together by hand until desired size crumbs are produced. Pressing them together makes bigger while rubbing them will produce smaller crumbs. If the butter warms up, crumbs would become smaller and smaller until we’ll end up with a pie crust. Popping the crumbs into the fridge until the butter cools down will give us a fresh start if needed. Don’t add water!
- Transfer apples into a baking dish that doesn’t allow liquid to seep out. Smaller size dishes will make thicker layers while bigger dishes thinner ones but none will affect the end results.
- Sprinkle over the crumble topping.
- Bake in the middle rack of 390°F / 200°C preheated oven until golden brown, about 30 – 40 minutes. Letting it cool off before serving makes it easier to take the slices out and prettier too. Serve it with custard or vanilla ice cream.
Notes
Pin now, Enjoy later!
