Ingredients
- 8 medium Granny Smith apples 3lb/1.3 kg
- 1 cup dried apricots roughly chopped, measured before chopping
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- zest from one lemon
- 2 tbsp lemon juice juice from one lemon
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
- 1 cup dark brown sugar
- 1 cup of all-purpose flour 120 grams
- 1 stick unsalted butter 115 grams, grated or cut into small pieces
- 1 cup roughly chopped walnuts measured after chopping (about 115 grams)
- a pinch of salt
- vanilla ice cream to serve with the crumble
Instructions
- Peel and chop the apples. To a large mixing bowl, add 2 tablespoons of lemon juice. Peel, halve, and core the apples. Chop them (into about 1/2-inch-wide pieces), adding them to the mixing bowl with lemon juice.
- Make the apple filling. To the mixing bowl with the chopped apples, add half the lemon zest, the chopped dried apricots, half the cinnamon (½ tsp), the cornstarch (1 tbsp), and half the brown sugar (½ cup). Transfer to a 12-inch by 9-inch glass baking dish.
- Make the topping. First, combine the butter (grated or chopped into small pieces) with the flour, remaining lemon zest, and remaining sugar (½ cup), rubbing the mixture until you have a small pea-size breadcrumb-like texture. Fold in the chopped nuts. Add the crumb on top of the apple filling evenly.
- Bake the apple crumble. Preheat the oven to 360°F (180°C). Bake the crumble for about 40-45 minutes until the apples are tender, the liquid is bubbling on the edges, and the topping is golden-brown. Let the crumble rest for about 15 minutes.
- Serve with vanilla ice cream. Add the crumble into serving bowls or ramekins and top with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
Notes
- Granny Smith apples are essential for their tart flavor. If you can’t get Granny Smith apples, go for Pink Lady or Honeycrisp apples, and reduce the sugar in the apple filling to 1/4 cup instead of 1/2 cup.
- Cornstarch – the cornstarch helps thicken the apple syrup while baking. If you don’t have cornstarch, add 1 tablespoon of all-purpose flour to help thicken the filling.
- Brown sugar – I prefer dark brown sugar for its high percentage of molasses, which adds more caramel notes to the crumble. You can use light brown sugar or regular white sugar; it will just have less intense caramel flavor.
- Walnuts – you can also use pecans, hazelnuts, macadamia, or almonds.