Combine two classics in this ultra-indulgent dessert. A cinnamon biscuit base, creamy vanilla filling, spiced apples and a buttery oaty crumble are drizzled generously with salted caramel sauce for a decadent finish
Abi is our former Junior Food Editor. An obsessive foodie with a sweet tooth, she is happiest when baking and is a firm believer that there is always room for dessert (preferably following a big bowl of pasta)
See more of Abigail Spooner’s recipes
Abigail Spooner
Abi is our former Junior Food Editor. An obsessive foodie with a sweet tooth, she is happiest when baking and is a firm believer that there is always room for dessert (preferably following a big bowl of pasta)
See more of Abigail Spooner’s recipes
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Ingredients
For the base
flavourless oil, to grease
200g digestive biscuits
½ tsp ground cinnamon
75g butter, melted
For the filling
500g mascarpone
400g full-fat soft cheese
150g caster sugar
3 tbsp cornflour
3 medium eggs
1½ tsp vanilla bean paste or extract
For the topping
3 Granny Smith apples
½ tbsp caster sugar
¼ tsp ground cinnamon
70g rolled oats
50g plain flour
40g light brown sugar
50g cold butter, diced
salted caramel sauce, to serve
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Step by step
Preheat the oven to 180°C, fan 160°C, gas 4. Brush a 23cm diameter springform tin with oil and line with baking paper. Blitz the digestives to a crumb in a food processor. Combine with the cinnamon and melted butter, stirring so the crumbs are well coated. Press evenly into the base of the tin; bake for 10 minutes. Leave to cool while you continue. Reduce the oven to 160°C, fan 140°C, gas 3.
For the filling, put all the ingredients in a large bowl. Beat with an electric whisk until smooth and thick. Set aside.
For the topping, peel, core and dice the apples into small chunks then toss with the caster sugar and cinnamon. For the crumble, mix the oats, flour, brown sugar and a pinch of salt in a bowl. Rub in the butter until the mixture forms small clumps.
To assemble, spoon the cheesecake mixture over the baked biscuit base in an even layer and place the tin on a baking tray. Scatter over the apples, followed by the crumble topping.
Bake for 1 hour 15 minutes to 1 hour 25 minutes until golden brown and with a bit of a wobble in the centre; it will continue to firm up as it cools so take care not to overbake. Turn the oven off and leave the cake to cool inside the oven for at least 2 hours. Remove from the oven, cool to room temperature (if necessary) and chill for at least 4 hours, ideally overnight.
Release from the tin and drizzle over salted caramel sauce to serve.
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.
Dessert-wise, in this case, specifically apple centric, pie would be the apple filling encased in upper and lower pastry sheets with a nice decorative crimp at the join. A crumble is most usually the Apple filling directly in the dish with a crumble topping, most often basically made up of sugar, butter and flour.
Apple crumble was probably invented in the 1940s as an alternative to traditional apple pie. Because of the war, it was harder to get the ingredients for pastry (flour and butter),so instead people made a little 'crumble' from fat and flour and just sprinkled it on top of the stewed fruit.
However, we also love adding porridge oats for extra chewiness, as in these recipes for very-berry oat crumble and American-style apple crisp. Chopped and toasted nuts such as pecans, almonds or hazelnuts also make a lovely addition to a traditional crumble, for taste as well as an extra-crunchy texture.
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.
Apple crisp is a dessert made with a streusel topping. In the US, it is also called apple crumble, a word which refers to a different dessert in the UK, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.
Apple crumble recipe topping is typically made of butter, sugar and flour which gets topped on the cooked fruit filling. To add an extra element of texture and flavour, oats, coconut, nuts and cinnamon can be added to the crumble mix.
The best source of protein, carbs, and lipids is apple crumble. Additionally, this dessert is a great option for weight management because it has a low caloric content. Due to the inclusion of apples, this dessert also contains healthy fats, a good amount of water, calcium, magnesium, and potassium.
Not enough butter, and your topping will be a dry, floury mess. 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.
A brown betty is similar to a crisp or crumble, except the topping is layered into the fruit mixture before baking for an intensely crunchy effect. Food Network Kitchen's Grilled Rhubarb Brown Betty is warm, sweet and super-crisp — excellent when served with a scoop of strawberry ice cream.
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.
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.
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.
Cobbler: A fruit dessert made with a top crust of pie dough or biscuit dough but no bottom crust. Crisp/crumble: In Alberta, the terms are mostly interchangeable. Both refer to fruit desserts similar to cobbler but made with a brown sugar streusel topping sometimes containing old-fashioned rolled oats.
Introduction: My name is Neely Ledner, I am a bright, determined, beautiful, adventurous, adventurous, spotless, calm person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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