Apple Crisp
Well, there it is, ready to go into the oven. Pretty fine, eh?
I promised some recipes that use the sugars I discussed in the last post. So here's one, a perfect dessert for a fall evening--or really anytime.
It's also made with walnut oil--which got used in the Apple Cake here. But any nut oil would work for the topping. You could even use melted butter. Wow.
This recipe has also been adapted from THE ULTIMATE COOK BOOK. There's a mix-and-match cobbler/crisp section in that book: seventeen fillings and ten toppings. Here's the apple version with an oaty, maply, nutty, crunchy topping--and with a less-refined sugar, to boot. (That said, I'll give you some "standard" substitutions as we go through the recipe.)
Honestly, I have to hold myself back from picking off that topping, leaving the fruit behind--and I love apples! You won't need any whipped cream or ice cream with this one--although I wouldn't stop you from putting a dollop or a scoop on mine if I come to dinner at your house.
Let's get to it.
Start out by positioning the rack in the center of the oven and preheating the oven to 350F (180C). Lightly grease a 9-inch square pan or a 10-inch oval (or "gratin") baking dish with some walnut oil dabbed on a paper towel. If you're not using walnut oil as the fat in the topping, grease the baking dish with whatever fat you will use.
Now for the filling. Stir all this in a big bowl: 2 1/2 pounds tart apples, peeled, cored, and thinly sliced (Bruce used Macintoshes); 2/3 cup turbinado sugar; 1 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour; 1 tablespoon quick-cooking tapioca; 1 teaspoon lemon juice; 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon; and 1/4 teaspoon salt.
If you don't want to use turbinado, you can substitute 1/3 cup granulated white sugar and 1/3 cup packed light brown sugar. And if you want, you can add up to 1/3 cup chopped raisins to the filling mixture.
Pour the filling into the prepared baking sheet--and then let it sit for 10 minutes. Why? Because of the quick-cooking tapioca. It's the fruit-dessert maker's secret. It renders those pie and crisp fillings thick and luscious. It's old-fashioned, sure. My grandmother used it. But you can still find the stuff in the baking aisle of most large supermarkets. It's important to let it dissolve fully before baking the filling. (By the way, do you see the big crystals of turbinado sugar in that picture, clinging to the apple slices?)
The topping can now be made in that same bowl that had held the filling. No need to wash it. And no use dirtying two bowls. Stir together the following: 1/2 cup all-purpose flour, 1/2 cup rolled oats (do not use quick-cooking or steel-cut oats), 6 tablespoons muscovado sugar, 1/3 cup chopped walnuts, 1/4 cup walnut oil, 2 tablespoons maple syrup, and 1/4 teaspoon salt.
As to the nuts and oil, match 'em up. If you're using pecan oil, use pecans. If you're using hazelnuts, use hazelnut oil. Or forgo the nut oil with any nut and substitute 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled a few minutes.
You can substitute 6 tablespoons dark brown sugar for the more esoteric stuff, but let me tell you: that muscovado sugar is going to give the topping a gorgeous, sticky, toffee-like, molasses hit. I'm gunning for a piece as I sit here writing this post. Bach is blasting from the speakers on my desk. (Cantata 180, the soprano aria, if you want to know.) It's a beautiful day out: chilly and bright. Yet I want another hunk of crisp. And I already had a bowlful for breakfast this morning!
Sprinkle this topping evenly over the filling. Then bake until lightly browned, until the filling is bubbling lightly, about 40 minutes. If you've used a flame-safe baking dish and find that the topping has browned before the filling is bubbling, you can transfer the pan from the oven to a medium-low flame and bring the filling up to a low bubble. But you MUST be using a flame-safe, metal or cast-iron baking dish!
Cool the crisp on a wire rack for at least 10 minutes before digging in. There's mine now. I think I need it. And then a walk in the autumn light.
Mark Scarbrough | Posted on Friday, October 8, 2010 at 12:34PM | in Desserts, Fabulously Empty Calories apple crisp, apples, desserts, fruit desserts, real food, turbinado sugar, walnut oil, walnuts
Reader Comments (9)
Wow, that really sounds amazingly delicious. I've been thinking about the apple cake since I saw your post and now I've got apple crisp on the mind! Everytime I'm in a grocery store I check to see if there is a reasonably sized apple pie that isn't full of fakeness and I haven't been having any luck. I think I may have to get cracking on this bad boy.
Also, I saw all of the sugars you mentioned at a Fresh Market grocery store today, hard to pass them by after your scrumptious write-up, but I barely bake and would hate to have them go to waste. Keep up the great work!
Well, Noah, you're probably right to pass them by--because, as I said, they are empty calories. Bruce and I were in NYC last night to see a play (a blech play, but that's another story) and I stopped by a rather famous bakery to get a "treat" to eat in the car on our way back to New England. Let's just say that that treat was darn disappointing. I took one bite and told Bruce I felt as if I were crunching sugar between my teeth. I put it on the console between us--and never touched it again in the 4 1/2-hour drive home. It just wasn't worth the calories, to be honest. I knew it would be sweet and little else, very unsatisfying.
That said, when I got home, finally, at 3:30, I did have several spoonfuls of this apple crisp, sitting on the counter, before I went off to bed.
M.
Oh yum! I hope all those knitting students were duly grateful!!
Celia: If you can find muscovado sugar down in Oz, you've got to try this topping. It gives the crisp an incredible, toffee-like consistency. I'm definitely going to try another recipe with muscovado sugar this week. Thinking gingerbread. Hmmm. Stay tuned!
M.
YUM, it looks so good. I Love the Ultimate Cook Book with all the different options you give for each recipe. This is a perfect example. Now to buy muscovado sugar.
This crisp looks fabulous. It has just the right amount of apple to topping ratio.
Also wanted to let you know I'm still a back fan of The Ultimate Candy Book. I recently adapted the Peanut Brittle recipe to make a Spicy Almond Brittle. I have it posted on my blog in case you're interested: http://hanaaskitchen.blogspot.com/2010/10/sms-roasted-cashew-brittle.html.
Daryl: Thanks for your kind words. And yes, it was pretty yum. I had it for breakfast two mornings in a row.
Hanaa: What a nice blog! And the brittle looks terrific, to say the least.
M.
Wow. We tried this last night for company (see how much faith I now have in your recipes -- I'll even serve them to company without trying them out first). Needless to say we LOVED it. Only one thing, leftovers? There were no leftovers to be found, lol. Fabulous as always.
Thanks so much, Terry. I'm glad you enjoyed it. (Sorry about the lack of leftovers!)
M.