Though apples are associated with fall cooking and baking in North America, they are available year round, as countries like Chile and New Zealand now grow and ship different varieties. For best results, use fresh apples, like Northen Spy or Rome, in these delectable dessert recipes.
Recipe for Quick Apple Crisp Dessert
A crisp or crumble is an economical and quick apple dessert to prepare. Fruit is spread in the bottom of an oven-proof dish and then topped with a crumbly layer usually made of butter, brown sugar and flour or oats. As it bakes, the butter melts and the sugar caramelizes, creating a crunchy texture that contrasts nicely with the softened fruit beneath.
A cobbler is similar to a crisp or crumble, except that the topping is more dough-like.
Ingredients:
For Apple Crisp Filling
- 3 - 4 large ripe apples
- 1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
- Lemon zest
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- ¼ tsp fresh grated nutmeg
- 1 Tbsp flour
- ¼ cup sugar
For Apple Crisp Topping
- ½ cup rolled oats
- 1/3 cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup butter, softened
- Pinch salt
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- Wash apples. Peel, seed and chop. Place in a medium bowl and toss with lemon juice.
- Mix in flour, lemon zest, cinnamon, nutmeg, flour and sugar.
- In a separate bowl, combine rolled oats, brown sugar, softened butter and pinch of salt.
- Spread apple mixture into a greased and floured 8” x 8” x 2” glass baking dish.
- Sprinkle oat topping evenly over apples.
- Place in oven and bake for 35-40 minutes. Remove from oven and serve dessert warm with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream. Makes 4 portions of apple crisp.
Easy Apple Clafouti Dessert Recipe
A clafouti is a French oven-baked pudding. Apple are used here, but cherries were the inspiration for the original recipe. Raspberry, peach and fig clafoutis are also delicious. The impressive end result belies the little effort it takes to produce this easy dessert.
Ingredients:
- 3 eggs
- 1 cup milk
- 2 tsp vanilla
- 2/3 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- ¼ tsp freshly grated nutmeg
- Pinch of salt
- Unsalted butter to grease baking dish
- 3 ripe apples, peeled, seeded and chopped
- 1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
Directions:
- Wash apples. Peel, seed and chop. Place in bowl and toss with lemon juice.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Crack eggs into a medium bowl. Beat with electric mixer until foamy.
- Add milk, vanilla, sifted flour, sugar, nutmeg and pinch of salt. Beat again until smooth.
- Pour batter into buttered 9” ovenproof dish or pie plate. Scatter apple pieces over batter.
- Place in oven and bake 40-45 minutes. Batter should rise and turn golden when done.
Remove apple clafouti from oven and let stand 10 minutes. Dust with confectioners’ sugar, which is a fine powdery sugar also known as icing or powdered sugar, before serving. Makes 8 dessert portions.
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Discover which types of apple are best suited for cooking, baking, salads and eating out of hand.
Heather Zorzini - Heather Zorzini's stories, essays and photographs have appeared in the Globe and Mail, National Post, Toronto's NOW Magazine and ...
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