Tart and glossy-skinned

We had a surfeit of Granny Smiths in the fridge, I wanted the scent of cinnamon and apples to perfume the house, and so I came up with my own recipe, which is partly inspired by an apple pie recipe and a crumble recipe I found on Epicurious.

I think the crumble tops all the crumbles I've ever made. The sweetness of the brown sugar adds the right note to the crisped-up oats, and the amount of butter is just right. The filling is perfectly balanced between tart and sweet and I like that there are raisins - they add a fleshiness that sliced apples cannot offer. I think Granny Smiths are best for this recipe but that's a personal preference. The orange juice in the raisins, the zest of lemon in the filling (and at the last minute I decided to throw in a bit of lemon juice as well), added a fragrant citrusy scent. H says it's the best crumble he's ever had (and I'd like to believe him!). I imagine this would be even better -- no, glorious -- with a dollop of very good, store-bought vanilla ice cream.


Idiot-proof Apple Crumble

Crumble
2 cups quick cooking oats
4/5 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup (arnd 1 stick) chilled unsalted butter, cut into dice

Apple filling
6 medium apples, can be sweet or tart (I used all Granny Smiths) - peeled, cored and sliced into 1/4-inch thin slices
3 tbsp orange juice
1 cup raisins
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
3 tbsp all-purpose flour
1 tsp lemon zest
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg (optional, if you like nutmeg)
pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 375°F. Grease a 13x9x2-inch glass baking dish or omit the nonstick spray if you plan to serve the pie cobbler-style.

Toss the raisins with the orange juice and let sit.

In a bowl, combine the crumble ingredients until mixture resembles coarse cornmeal.

In another bowl, rub together brown sugar, flour, zest, cinnamon (nutmeg too if using), and salt until no lumps remain. Add apples to sugar mixture and toss until coated. Add the raisins with the orange juice.

Transfer apple filling to baking dish and sprinkle with topping. Bake around 45 minutes until topping is brown and crisp. Eat warm.