“My apple crumble is by far the most crumble-est.”
Do you know how long I’ve been waiting to say that in a blog post??? AWHILE.
If you have no idea what I’m talking about, head here to be educated on the awesomeness of The Lonely Island’s “I’m So Humble.”
For those of you already in the know: *high five*
Why is Apple Crumble the book-inspired recipe for Hour of the Witch?
Boiled apples are pretty pivotal in Hour of the Witch and to main character Mary Deerfield’s story. They actually didn’t sound very appetizing in the book, so I did some googling.
Turns out, boiled apples from the good ‘ol days were pretty much what they sound like. With some raisins thrown in if people were feelin’ cray-cray.
All in all, “boiled apples” basically seems like an apple crumble… without the crumble.
#Sacrilege.
Ummm, I’m sorry, but why would you ever make apple crumble without the delicious, crispy, crunchy, cinnamon-and-brown-sugar crumble topping?!?!
(Ugh. Puritans.)
There’ll be none of that nonsense on this blog.
I’m giving you an upgraded version of Ye Old Boiled Apples with my delicious Apple Crumble.
(Just so you know: there’s also a “boiled salad” that appears on Mary’s table at dinnertime. Please note that I did not choose to make that for this book-inspired recipe. YOU’RE WELCOME.)
Why I love Apple Crumble
Tartlets, Apple Crumble is one of my FAVORITE fall desserts.
Its warm, delicious, apple-cinnamon-y scent fills up my kitchen at least once every season. More, if we’re expecting company. This recipe is a huge crowd pleaser.
The prep work takes a little time, depending on your apple peeling skills. (Note: mine are non-existent). But, all the peeling and chopping is worth it.
All those sliced apples become soft and juicy, the raisins are plump and sweet, and the crumble topping is crunchy and crumbly and sugary.
Everything bakes up all bubbly and sticky and delicious, making it the perfect warm dessert for a cold winter night.
What are the best apples to use for Apple Crumble?
When it comes to apples, you can use whatever kind you like. I recommend a mixed assortment for maximum flavor.
The Apple Crumble here was made using “seconds” from the local farm, so I don’t actually know what varieties of apples went into this dish.
Whatever I used, it turned out DELICIOUS. So I’m going to bake Apple Crumble with seconds from now on.
Also, this is the first time I’ve made Apple Crumble with raisins, and I gotta say — a new classic is born.
A depressingly amusing side story:
Let’s circle back to that Lonely Island reference before I let you go. Here’s a fun (yet slightly depressing) fact: Last year, I received a casting call to audition for a home baking competition on NBC. Long story short, I declined (because I’m an idiot). I later found out that it was for this awesome show hosted by Lonely Island frontman, Andy Samberg, who you may (but probably don’t) remember is one of my celeb crushes.
SIGH. Take chances, people. TAKE. CHANCES.
And eat Apple Crumble.
What do you serve with Apple Crumble?
Hot Apple Crumble doesn’t need anything more than a (generous) scoop of (French) vanilla ice cream. At that point, it was petty much perfection. **chef’s kiss**
Serve this dessert after a hearty, cozy meal of Chicken and Rice Casserole, One Pot Cheeseburger Pasta, Cottage Pie, or Cincinnati Chili.
Apple Crumble
Ingredients
Apple Filling
- 5-6 medium/large apples,peeled, cored, and sliced very thinly into quarter moons
- 1/2 cup raisins
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- juice of half a lemon
Apple Crumble Topping
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, cubed(kept cold)
- 1/2 cup old-fashioned oats
- 2/3 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
- 1 tbsp ground cinnamon
Instructions
PREP INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat oven to 350F.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Spray a 8x8 baking dish with baking spray, then place on the lined baking sheet. Set aside.
- Peel your apples. It’s okay if a little bit of peel is left on there.
- Slice the peeled apples very thinly -- not quite paper thin, but almost. I like to make half moon slices, then cut the half moons into quarters.
- Cut your butter into cubes, then place back in the fridge to keep cold until ready to bake.
BAKING INSTRUCTIONS
- Make the apple filling: Place sliced apples in a medium/large bowl, then add the raisins and the lemon juice. Mix fruit to coat, then add the ¼ cup granulated sugar and mix to coat again. Set aside at room temperature.
- Make the crumble topping: In another medium bowl, mix together the oats, flour, ¼ cup granulated sugar, brown sugar, and cinnamon.
- Take the cold, cubed butter out of the fridge and use a pastry blender to cut the butter into the crumble topping. (You can use a fork, but a pastry blender works best.) Cut butter into the mixture until it makes coarse crumbs.
- Pour the apple filling into the prepared 8x8 baking dish resting on the lined baking sheet. Smooth filling into an even layer, making sure some of the raisins are on the top.
- Sprinkle handfuls of the crumble topping over the apples, making sure to cover every corner of the dish. Use all of the topping!
- Bake the apple crumble on the lined baking sheet at 350F for 35-40 minutes, or until the filling is hot and bubbling around the edges and the crumble topping is golden and crunchy.
- Remove apple crumble from oven and set on a wire cooling rack. Let cool for 10 minutes, then serve in bowls with ice cream or whipped cream.
Ooh, lovely!! It’s that time of year, we like to make blackberry and apple crumble with the blackberries we picked this autumn, served with hot custard 😊
I’m so late replying to your comment, Nicola! Apologies. Adding blackberries to apple crumble sounds delicious, too. I think it’s so funny how other countries put custard on crumbles and desserts. We Americans just plop a scoop o’ ice cream on there and call it a day, lol.
Happy new year!