Feast your eyes on this delicious apple crumble with warm spices and a crunchy buttery topping. Sauteing the apples before baking speeds up the cooking time and creates a fantastic caramelized flavor.

Table of Contents

1. Apple selection
2. Pre-cook the apples
3. Make a crumble topping
4. Baking tips
5. Serve this with
6. FAQ
7. Apple Crumble Recipe

A freshly baked apple crumble is the perfect dessert for sharing, and it’s easy to make. When there’s not enough time to construct a classic apple pie, this sweet treat is a quicker alternative that delivers similar warm fruit flavors and a crunchy crust. The glazed caramel slices and buttery, crumbly topping go great with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream.

One of the biggest challenges with crumbles is thoroughly cooking the apple filling while achieving a dry, crisp surface. Don’t worry. I have a simple solution! Pre-cooking the fruit on the stovetop concentrates the juices before baking. This process also cuts down on bake time and gives less moisture for the flour crumble to absorb. The result is tender fruit and an extra crunchy top.

Apple selection

When the fall season hits, grab a batch of Honeycrisp apples. Their fruit is sweet and tart yet balanced in flavor. Their juicy flesh is also sturdy enough for cooking and doesn’t fall apart like mealy red apples. You can use other types of apples like Fuji, McIntosh, Braeburn, or Golden Delicious if you want a sweeter filling. I would only use Granny Smith apples with a mix of other sweeter varieties for a more tart flavor.

Pre-cook the apples

I prefer to pre-cook the apples on the stovetop instead of guessing if they thoroughly soften during baking. This sauteing process allows you to see the juices release and concentrate. Slice them into ½-inch thick pieces. They will reduce by about half in volume.

Toss them with warm spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, lemon juice and zest, brown and granulated sugar for a balanced taste. I add a small amount of flour to create a thick syrup-like glaze, but you can omit this for a thinner consistency. When sauteing, don’t let the apples turn entirely mushy as they will finish cooking in the oven. 

Make a crumble topping

Compared to rolling out a pie crust, a crumble topping is fast and straightforward to prepare. Just combine all-purpose flour with the dried ingredients first. A combination of dark brown sugar and granulated sugar adds sweetness, with some molasses for a deeper caramel note. Salt and cinnamon prevent the flour mixture from tasting bland.

My secret ingredient for a super crunchy texture is to add baking powder. The leavening agent slightly puffs up the topping, creating a more hollow, snappy bite. I also add melted butter instead of cold butter to hydrate the flour and bind the topping ingredients together. This technique develops more aromatic flavor compounds that taste like butterscotch, similar to making browned butter. It tastes like cinnamon graham crackers, so delicious!

Baking tips

The topping will be clumpy. You’ll need to break it into various pieces about the size of a dime. Sprinkle it evenly on top to cover the pre-cooked apples. Bake at 375ºF (191ºC) to cook the topping and further tenderize the fruit. The flour and sugars will harden and turn golden brown. The caramel flavors developed in the crust complement the cinnamon apple filling. 

The dessert tastes better when cooled for at least 30 to 45 minutes if you can be patient. Resting gives the butter and sugars in the topping time to cool and harden. It also allows the sauce to thicken up into a syrupy glaze over the fruit. 

Serve this with

FAQ