Apple Crumble

recipe.info();

Unlike a pie that challenges you with the daunting task of making a dough from scratch, the hardest part about making a crumble is cutting up the fruit!

This recipe uses Granny Smith Apples since the apple itself has a long history with this dish and the contrast between softened super-tart syrupy apples and a sweet-n-crunchy baked topping can't be beat.

With only a couple of ingredients, some bowls, and a baking dish you'll come to see the crumble as a delicious and simple dessert worthy of your weeknight cravings, no kneading of dough required.

recipe.instructions();

Preheat your oven

Oven.preheat(350);

There is no worse pain than having a crumble ready to bake, but your oven being stone cold! Before anything else, make sure to preheat your oven so that it comes up to temp by the time you’re done with prep.

Crank it to 350ºF and leave it alone.

Prepare the apples

cubed_apples = apples.each().peel().slice().cube();

When preparing the apples, you want to think of yourself as a robot that can only do one task at time. In programming, this is called a "loop", meaning the same process runs over-and-over until the current conditions are no longer true.

Rather than peeling, slicing, and chopping one apple, instead focus on peeling all of them, chopping all of them, and so on. This is much more efficient as you get into a rhythm instead of having to go back-and-forth!

Peel

Start by peeling the apples with your peeler or pairing knife making sure to get as much of the skin off as possible.

Slice

1. Stand an apple vertically, so that its stem is face-up. It may help to cut a small slice off the bottom for balance.
2. Slice off one of the cheeks (one of the larger sides) being careful not to cut too close to the core.
3. Rotate the apple 180º and cut the second cheek.
4. Rotate the apple 90º this time and cut a wedge.
5. Finally, rotate 180º one more time to cut the second wedge.
6. This should leave you with 5 segments: two wedges, two cheeks and the core.

Repeat with the rest of the apples and discard the cores.

Cube a cheek

1. To cut the cheeks into cubes, cut them in half (so that they form half-circles) and stand them upright on the cut flat side.
2. Cut the half-circle vertically so that you have two pieces.
3. Keeping those pieces together, return the half-circle to the large flat side (lay it down) and cut it in half lengthwise. This should leave you with four rectangular pieces.
4. Rotate the pieces 90º and cut into cube-ish shapes.

Cube a wedge

1. To cut the wedges into cubes, lay them on their side and cut them in half lengthwise, similar to what you did with the cheek half-circles.
2. Return them to their flat side and cut them lengthwise again.
3. Finally, rotate 90º so they are perpendicular to your knife.
4. Cut into small cube-ish shapes.

Place all of the cubed apples into your large bowl.

Prepare the filling

filling = bowl.mix(filling_ingredients);

1. Into your large bowl with the cubed apples add the 10g (1tbsp) of flour, 100g (1/2 cup) of granulated sugar, 2 tbsp lemon juice, 1 tsp vanilla extract, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, and a pinch of kosher salt.
2. Mix together with your spatula or spoon.

The salt and sugar need time to pull moisture from the apples. This will then mix with the flour to form a syrup that will thicken when baked.

Set this bowl aside and let it do its thing while you focus on the topping.

Prepare the topping

topping = bowl.mix(topping_ingredients);

1. Into your medium bowl goes the 100g (1 cup) of rolled oats, 150g (1 cup) of flour, 200g (1 cup) of granulated sugar, 1/2 tsp baking powder, 1 tsp of ground cinnamon, and a small pinch of kosher salt.
2. Using your whisk, combine all of the ingredients until they’re homogenous.
3. Melt your butter, on the stove or in the microwave, and allow to cool slightly.
4. Add the butter to the bowl with your dry ingredients and mix with your hands until the butter is fully incorporated and no dry spots remain.

Once fully mixed the topping should feel like wet sand and should clump and hold its shape when pressed firmly, but then crumble easily. Set the topping bowl aside and grab your baking dish.

Assemble the dish

crumble = dish.layer(filling, topping);

1. Start by layering the apples in your 9x11 baking dish along with all of the juice in the bowl. This, as mentioned before, will make a nice syrup after baking so get as much of it into the dish as possible!
2. Using your spatula or spoon make sure your apples are spread out across the bottom of the dish and in as flat of a layer as possible.
3. Next, grab your topping bowl and begin to spread the mixture evenly over the apples. For extra textural goodness, make sure to clump some handfuls of the topping in your fist so that you end up with a few boulders, it's called a crumble after all not a sheet!

By the end, the mixture should look hilly and uneven, but it should fully cover the apples. Now we're ready to bake.

Bake the crumble

Oven.bake(crumble);

Place your dish onto the middle rack of your preheated oven for 30-45 minutes until you see juices bubbling at the edges, or until the crust is golden brown and delicious. In the meantime, sit back, relax, and enjoy the smell of baking apples as it will undoubtedly fill your kitchen.

Depending on your oven, the crust may brown before you see juices, which is perfectly fine. However, you may see bubbling before the crust is browned which is not as fine. Fear not, you can pop the crumble under your broiler for 1-2 minutes and the crust should brown right up. If you opt for broiling, make sure to check on it every 30 seconds or so! The only thing worse than no crumble is a burnt crumble!

Cool and serve

crumble.cool(10, min).serve();

Once the crumble is baked to your liking, take it out of the oven and let it cool for about 10 minutes.

I know, it's tempting to dig in straight away, but the juices need some time to thicken and biting into it now will melt your mouth off!

After the crumble has cooled slightly, use a spoon to serve onto a plate or a bowl. Top with some vanilla ice cream, or some fresh whipped cream, or just eat it plain, there are no wrong answers.

Kept in an airtight container it should last for a few days in the fridge. You can reheat it in the microwave or in the oven, or just eat it cold. There are no wrong choices!