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Posted by Aimee84 comments Published: Jun 09, 2021Last Updated: Jun 5, 2023
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This easy Apple Crumble recipe is true comfort food with sweet caramelized apple filling and crunchy cinnamon topping. Total crowd pleaser and ready in under an hour!
Don’t forget to top this crumble with a scoop of homemade vanilla ice cream! Change up the flavor and try my zucchini crumble too!
Table of Contents
Why This Recipe Works
Ingredient Notes
Step by Step Instructions
Recipe FAQs
More Easy Apple Desserts
Apple Crumble Recipe
Why This Recipe Works
Everyone loves a warm apple pie, but sometimes you just want something a little less time consuming. Something like this rustic apple crumble.
I recently shared my love of crumbles with this Blueberry Lime Crumble and Apple Cranberry Crumble.
But before we talk about variations, let’s get to the real deal.
Today’s Apple Crumble is ready in under an hour making it the perfect dessert to pop in the oven while enjoying dinner.
When choosing the perfect apple crumble recipe, this recipe is best because:
Apple stays soft, but not watery.
Not too sweet, but not dry either.
Ready in under in hour (less time than eating dinner and doing dishes).
Ingredient Notes
Best apples to use for apple crumble: I like to use a tart apple, like Granny Smith or Golden Delicious. However, you really can’t go wrong with any fresh apple.
Oats. I use quick cook oats in today’s recipe, but rolled oats (or old fashioned oats) will also work if you like your oats more chewy (like in my favorite oatmeal scotchie cookies).
Sugar. A combination of granulated sugar and brown sugar is used in the apple mixture, and you’ll just need the brown sugar for the crumble topping.
Step by Step Instructions
Apple layer. Peel and dice 4 apples. Combine apples in a large bowl with lemon juice, granulated sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, and flour. Pour into a 2 qt baking dish.
Combine crumble ingredients: brown sugar, cinnamon, oats, flour, butter. I find it easiest to use my hands to make the crumble, but a pastry cutter works too. Sprinkle over the top of apple mixture, pressing lightly.
Bake in a 375 degree oven for about 50 minutes, until bubbly and caramelized. Enjoy warm with whipped cream or ice cream!
Recipe FAQs
Can Apple Crumble be made in advance?
Absolutely! To make ahead, just assemble, cover with foil and refrigerate until ready to bake (up to 24 hours).
Can you freeze Apple Crumble?
I don’t recommend freezing a crumble, as I haven’t seen good success. The filling tends to get too watery, and the topping doesn’t have a good crunch.
What is the difference between apple crisp and apple crumble?
A crisp is a fruit dessert topped with a crunchy layer of ingredients. A crumble is more of a streusel combination of flour, oats, sugars, and butter.
More Easy Apple Desserts
Frosted Apple Blondies
Apple Hand Pies
Apple Empanadas
Apple Skillet Cake
Apple Crisp
Apple Bread
Did you try this Apple Crumble recipe? Be sure to leave a rating or a comment below!
This easy Apple Crumble recipe is true comfort food with sweet caramelized apple filling and crunchy cinnamon topping. Total crowd pleaser and ready in under an hour!
Prep Time: 10 minutesminutes
Cook Time: 50 minutesminutes
Total Time: 1 hourhour
Servings: 10servings
Ingredients
For the Filling:
4applespeeled and diced
1Tablespoonlemon juice
⅓cupgranulated sugar
⅓cuplight brown sugarpacked
1teaspooncinnamon
¼cupall-purpose flour
For the Crumble:
1cuplight brown sugarpacked
1cupall-purpose flour
1cupquick cook oats
½cupcold unsalted buttercubed
1teaspooncinnamon
Instructions
In a large bowl, combine diced apples with lemon juice, sugars, cinnamon and flour. Pour into a 2qt baking dish.
In a separate bowl, combine crumble ingredients. Use hands to combine butter until crumbly (this takes a few minutes). Sprinkle over top of apple mixtures. Press lightly.
Bake in a 375 degree oven for 45-50 minutes, until bubbly and caramelized. Enjoy warm with a scoop of ice cream!
Notes
APPLES: I like to use a tart apple, like Granny Smith or Golden Delicious. However, you really can’t go wrong with any fresh apple. Just peel and dice and enjoy the fresh comfort food of an apple pie without a crust!
ADDITIONS: Add nuts or granola for a crispier crumble topping.
MAKE AHEAD: Can be made 24 hours in advance. Refrigerate and cover with foil.
I usually give them a short blast in the microwave; not long enough to send them to mush, but just enough to keep their shape and texture and the oven will do the rest. I usually slice the apples quite thinly then put the crumble mixture on top and put the dish on a baking sheet. I part cook the apples.
Too much butter and your topping will become a greasy blob or disappointingly soggy. Some recipes will ask you to cut in cold butter along with your dry ingredients, resulting in pea-size pieces that are sprinkled across the hot fruit filling.
“I can't stand crumbles that have a layer of floury sugary dust on top. They're supposed to be chunky and craggy, with big pieces of crumble on top. By freezing your topping, it makes it harden just slightly and that means the texture will be nice and crispy when it's cooked.”
A well-made crumb should be firm yet tender, and chewy, with big chunks—like granola. The best way to achieve this is to use cold cubed butter. Using room-temperature or melted butter will cause the topping to spread out and flatten when it bakes, rather than standing pert and perky.
Put 175g plain flour and 110g golden caster sugar in a bowl with a good pinch of salt. Slice in 110g cold butter and rub it in with your fingertips until the mixture looks like moist breadcrumbs. Shake the bowl and any big bits will come to the surface – rub them in.
In a large bowl, toss together apples, granulated sugar, 2 tablespoons flour, lemon juice, cinnamon, and 1/4 teaspoon salt; transfer to prepared dish. In a bowl with an electric mixer, beat butter with brown sugar until fluffy. Mix in 1 cup flour and 1/2 teaspoon salt until large pieces form. Scatter over filling.
Like an apple crisp, an apple crumble is a baked fruit dessert with a layer of topping. But unlike the crisp, the crumble topping rarely includes oats or nuts. Instead, a crumble's topping is more like streusel, made with flour, sugar and butter.
Since the apples are thinly sliced, the peel cooks and softens enough so that it's barely noticeable. We also like the extra flavor, color, and texture that the peel contributes, but of course if you've got apple peel-averse folks among your crowd, feel free to take the extra step to remove it before slicing.
What Causes A Cake To Sink In The Middle? Using too-small tins, not mixing your wet batter right, or being too rough with the oven door often leads to a huge baking flop.
If you use more butter than the recipe calls for, the crumb topping will be melted and greasy. If you don't use enough butter it will be dry and floury.
Then, make sure to bake the crumble long enough so that the fruit filling comes to a profuse simmer at the edges of the pan. This shows that the cornstarch has been activated enough to thicken the juices, turning them supple and silky.
So what's a crumble vs. a crisp? A crumble is just a crisp without oats in the streusel. It may feature nuts, but the streusel topping is usually a simple combination of butter, flour, and sugar that is more clumpy than that of a crisp.
Often this happens if the crumb topping is over-mixed or if the butter was much too hot. Over-mixing will leave you with a pasty, batter-like mixture rather than the crumbly topping you are aiming for. Using very hot butter can cause the sugars to melt, leaving you with a greasy and not crumbly mixture.
The main reason your crumble topping isn't crunchy is probably because you haven't used Demerara sugar. Although, it could also be that you've got your topping ingredient quantities wrong: either too much or not enough flour and butter alongside the sugar.
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