05 Sep Mini Skillet Apple and Cinnamon Crumbles

In an ironic twist of fate, I married a man that doesn’t have a sweet tooth. He’s not a fan of desserts or chocolate or cake. I know, right?! I learned early on though that he does have one weakness when it comes to desserts: Apple Crumble.

My husband loves Apple Crumble so much that he developed his own recipe which he knew only by “feel” (yet could duplicate perfectly every time he made it!). I can honestly and unbiasedly say his apple crumble recipe is perfect. Seriously. The apples are cooked just enough (not mushy but not too hard) and coated with a sweet cinnamon sauce. The crumble is buttery and crunchy, yet not too sweet and never doughy. If there is one thing I cannot tolerate in this world it’s doughy crumble!

I was desperate to match his recipe, but since he had no idea of the actual quantity of ingredients, all I could do was watch him make it and get a “feel” for the mixture. This took many attempts (and lots of tasting – yay!) but I finally replicated it and got the stamp of approval from my husband. So here it is!

On another note, I’m totally obsessed with mini skillets, and couldn’t think of a better way to serve an apple crumble. You can also bake this recipe in one large skillet or a pie dish.

Ingredients:

For the filling:

6 medium-sized apples
2 tbsp butter
1 tsp cinnamon
3-4 tbsp brown sugar
A squeeze of lemon juice, optional

For the crumble:

160g butter, cold
120g castor sugar
240g flour
1 tsp vanilla essence

Directions:

• Preheat the oven to 180°C. Peel and core the apples, then cut into quarters. Slice each apple quarter into thin slices.
• Place the apple slices, butter, cinnamon and brown sugar (to taste depending on how sweet the apples are) into a frying pan. Sauté over low-medium heat, stirring frequently, until soft – about 5 minutes. Add a touch of lemon juice if desired.
• Divide the filling between 4 x 12,5cm diameter skillets (or 1 large skillet or even a 22cm pie dish!). Set aside to cool.
• To make the crumble, place all ingredients into a food processor and blitz until you have coarse crumbs. If you don’t have a food processor, stir together the flour and castor sugar in a large bowl, then grate the butter onto this. Rub the butter into the dry ingredients until you have coarse crumbs. Stir in the vanilla essence. Refrigerate until required.
• Sprinkle the crumble mixture evenly over the cooled filling of each mini skillet, then bake for 25-35 minutes, or until the crumble is golden brown.
• Serve immediately with vanilla ice cream, custard or whipped cream..