Brown Butter Apple Crumble
Apple season is in full bloom in BC, with tons of amazing varieties being produced, you will be spoiled for choice at Amaranth Foods! Use your favourite in this recipe or one you haven’t tried. Paired with warm cinnamon and brown butter the subtle nuisances of the apple come out making this dessert really shine! In this recipe I used pink lady apples for their unique blend of sweet and tart, perfect for baking. These apples are non-GMO, organic and grown on Canadian soil!
Growing up on a ranch the fall months were filled by preservation and getting ready for the winter. Apples were always in abundance at this time and can it be tough to find recipes to use them up, especially if they aren’t great eating apples. This apple crumble recipe has always been a favourite of mine and no matter the apple used it always turns out delicious. Serve warm with a scoop of classic vanilla ice cream, I am not sure there is a more comforting dessert during the colder months. This recipe is great to serve for any holiday celebration from Thanksgiving to Christmas or to keep in the freezer for whenever you are craving apple crumble!
Apples contain key nutrients like antioxidants and fibre and are mainly composed of carbohydrates and water. Rich in simple sugars but low on the glycemic index, they are good for people with diabetes or other health issues. High in vitamin C and potassium, apples contain key nutrients required for the winter months. The long shelf life of apples and vast nutritional benefits make them the ideal fruit for a healthy hearty dessert. Using all Amaranth ingredients, my version of apple crumble uses Red Fife flour, rolled oats, BC apples, apple cider vinegar and bee pollen. This dessert is easy to make and just oh-so-perfect with a scoop of ice cream!
Brown Butter Apple Crumble
Recipe by Tristan Guilbeault
Dietary Restrictions: Lactose-free, vegetarian, nut-free
Total Time: 2 hours | (Preparation): 15 minutes | (Resting): 40 minutes | (Cooking): 1 hour 5 min
Yields: Feeds 8-12
Ingredients
Brown Butter Crumble
● 1⁄2 cup Unsalted Butter; 1⁄4 of a brick (we recommend Rolling Meadows, St. Brigid’s Creamery, L’Ancêtre)
● 1 cups Red Fife Flour or All-Purpose Flour (we recommend Better Basics Milling, The Scottish Mill, Anita’s Organic, Bulk Section)
● 3⁄4 cup Rolled Oats (we recommend Wescana Foods, Only Oats, One Degree)
● 1⁄2 cup packed Brown Sugar or Coconut Sugar (we recommend Camino, Everland Organic, ONEearth, Wild Tusker)
● 1⁄2 tsp Baking Powder (we recommend Bakers Supply House, Westpoint Naturals)
● 2 tbsp Water
● 1⁄2 tsp Salt
Apple Filling
● 10 Apples, peeled optional (we recommend varieties like Honeycrisp, Granny Smith, Pink Lady, Gala, Mcintosh, Ambrosia, Sunrise, Cosmic Crisp)
● 1⁄2 cup Organic Whole Brown Sugar or Coconut Sugar
● 2 tbsp Arrowroot Powder (we recommend Westpoint Naturals)
● 2 tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar (we recommend Bragg Organic, San Remo, Filsingers Organic)
● 2 tsp Cinnamon Powder (we recommend Simply Organic, Splendor Garden, Bulk Section)
● 1 tsp Salt
Garnish
● Top with your favourite icecream carried at Amaranth, these are some of my favourites (Organic Meadow Vanilla, Avalon French Vanilla Bean, SO Delicious Vanilla Coconut)
● Bee Pollen, optional (we recommend Corbicula, Harmonic Arts, Dutchman & McKenzie’s)
Instructions
1. Start by browning the butter, add 1⁄2 cup butter to a pot over medium heat. Let this brown for 15-18 minutes without stirring. The butter will go through stages, from melting to foaming to bubbling to browning, once it begins to brown reduce the heat to medium-low and pay more attention as we do not want it to burn. The milk solids at the bottom will begin to toast and smell nutty, we want a nice golden brown here, not black. Although if it does go black, taste it, if it tastes burnt it is not good, but if it is very nutty it is still usable. Once it has reached the proper colour add to a metal bowl and place in the freezer (watch your hands! I have burned mine a couple of times by touching the hot bowl of butter).
2. Add the rest of the ingredients for the brown butter crumble in a large mixing bowl. Combine using your hands or a fork. Once the butter has solidified in the freezer, around 20 minutes. Add to the mixing bowl with the water and gently use your fingers to work in the butter, we want small chunks of butter here to make the “crumbles”. Take a sheet tray covered in parchment and place the crumble on top, patting down equally. Place in the freezer for 20 minutes.
3. Cut the apples, (peeling is optional, I enjoy the added texture and nutrients) slice around the core into 4 pieces, then chop into thin slices or cubes. Add to a large bowl and mix in the brown sugar, apple cider vinegar, cinnamon, arrowroot powder and salt.
4. Preheat oven to 350. In a 9x13 casserole pan or similar place chopped apples, then top with the brown butter crumble. Add to the oven and bake for 50 minutes or until the crumble is golden brown and the sides are slightly bubbling and caramelized. Take out and let cool.
5. Enjoy hot with ice cream and some bee pollen, or let it cool and warm up again. I prefer it the next day actually as I find that the crumble hardens and becomes even more delicious, it also gives the flavours more time to meld.
Gluten-free
I haven’t personally tried this recipe gluten-free, but if you use a gluten-free variety of oats I see no reason why a quality gluten-free flour could not be used. Try Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free 1:1 Baking Flour, Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-free All-purpose Baking Flour, Bob’s Red Mill Organic Gluten-free Coconut Flour, Namaste Foods Perfect Flour Blend or Anita’s Gluten-free All-purpose Flour.
Glass vs Metal vs Ceramic
When choosing a casserole pan there are many options from glass to metal to ceramic. But they all have their pros and cons, and depending on the recipe some are better than others. Glass conducts heat well and evenly, useful for browning or caramelization. However, because of this they also are more prone to burning foods or over caramelizing the sugars.
Darker glass pans will concentrate more heat on the edges, meaning food can be prone to burning around the edges, it is best to use a lower temperature with these pans for this reason.
Metal pans conduct heat poorer than glass but provide better browning. The type of metal matters, aluminum will warm up the quickest and steel much slower. Insulated metal baking pans heat up the slowest, good for foods like cookies. Ceramic is most similar to glass, evenly conducts heat but warms up slower than glass, it can be used as a substitution for glass in most cases but is more prone to sticking. For this recipe you can use any of these three but I would opt for glass or ceramic.
Reheating
This crumble can be baked, covered and then frozen. When reheating, cook at 350 until warmed through, around 30 minutes. Straight from the fridge, you can warm up at 350 for around 10-15 minutes depending on the size of the piece. Alternatively, it may be warmed up in the microwave for 30-40 seconds, I don’t love using a microwave but I found it makes the crumble topping even crisper, so I like to top it off with some oat milk for a sweet breakfast or late-night treat.
Storage
Apple crumble may be baked and then covered and frozen for up to 6 months. In the fridge, it will last for up to 10 days but I bet it won’t last that long!
Substitutions
This recipe works well with other fruits not just apples. This summer I made brown butter crumbles using strawberries, haskap and saskatoon berries, which all were really good. When using berries however they are best used from frozen and must be cooked before. The ingredients are the same but cooking them down concentrates the flavours as well as reduces water content. Any frozen berry carried at Amaranth would work well with this method; including blueberries from Nudefruit, Earthbound Farm, Stalhush Farms and Bremners; Bremners Blackberries; Earthbound Farms Organic Strawberries, Berry Blend; and Stahlbush Island Farms Red Raspberries.
I have also used other fruits like cherries and rhubarb and I imagine that varieties of stonefruit would make a wonderful summer version too. In this apple crumble, Bartlett and Bosc pears may be substituted completely or mixed half and half with the apples. The arrowroot powder may be substituted with cornstarch, although I prefer arrowroot. Nuts may be added to the brown butter crumble, use your favourites like almonds, pecans, hazelnuts, walnuts, peanuts and macadamia, just ensure to toast them separately and then add them to the crumble before the butter is added. I like my apple crumble simple but you can add other warm spices into the filling such as nutmeg, all-spice, anise, ginger and cloves.