Caramel Apple Crumble

Growing up in the south, I had many great, rich desserts. Pralines were plentiful. Lemon pie was invited to every meal. Pecan cookies and homemade vanilla ice cream always had a spot at the table. But there was one desert that I never remember encountering in my desperate attempt to satisfy my sweet tooth…. apple pie. Apple anything to be exact. I was apple deprived. So as I got older, I became obsessed with making an apple pie that everyone would like. That I would like. So I decided to pair the fruit with a salted caramel. I thought it would be like a bananas foster but with apples! So flavor combo- check. The next task was the texture. Crunchy apples were not allowed in my pie. So I decided to cook down the apples before baking… oh sweet goodness. Heavenly texture -check. This recipe made me into an apple pie lover. If you’ re an apple pie hater, I double dog dare you to try this. I make turnovers, crumble and straight up pie from this recipe. Crumble won the toss today!

Recipe: Makes 6 Crumbles

Apple filling:

3 golden delicious apples

3 honey crisp apples

Juice of 1 lemon

2 Tbs. flour

1 tsp. apple pie spice

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/3 cup raw sugar

1/4 stick of butter

Peel, core and slice apples. Put apples in a large bowl with lemon juice to prevent browning. Add flour, apple pie spice and cinnamon to bowl. Mix to combine. In a large pan, melt butter and sugar in pan. Add apples to the pan. Cook down on medium heat for about 25 minutes. Let cool before handling.

Salted Caramel:

1 cup sugar

1/4 cup water

1 stick of butter

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

1 tsp. vanilla

1 tsp. sea salt

Combine sugar and water over low heat until dissolved. Add butter and bring heat up to medium. Bring to boil. Keep an eye on the pot! Whenever the liquid turns amber, take it off the heat and add the cream and vanilla. It will splatter a lot so stand back. Keep stirring until smooth. Bring back to low heat and add salt. Let cool for a few minutes.

Crumble: Inspired by Bon Appetit April 2010

1/2 cup of brown sugar

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 tsp. salt

1 Tbs. cinnamon

1 stick of melted butter

1 ¼ cups of flour

Mix sugars, salt and cinnamon in a bowl. Add melted butter. Whisk in flour.

Assemble:

Preheat the oven to 375^o

 Butter 6 ramekins and place on a cookie sheet. Place the filling in the ramekins along with the caramel and place the crumble topping onto the filling. Load up on the crumble! Bake for 25 minutes or just until the crumble is crunchy and golden brown. Eat and enjoy!