Apple crumble

Sunday, Jan. 27. 4 pm. Kids, husbands and cats went for a drive. I have a Sunday afternoon to myself. I'm not on the phone, not on FB, not writing e-mails. I'm baking.

I had all these Renee apples that were not good to eat raw and I've had enough of cakes and puddings lately. Apple crumble was a perfect choice. It's a good dessert when you have a headache. It requires minimum effort, peeling and coring apples is the biggest job here. And there is no noise from the mixer. Yummy, easy, quite and quilt free, almost...as long as I'm having it my loose pants. I'm planning on spending the rest of day on the sofa.

Renee apples are made for baking. When exposed to high temperatures, they fall apart beautifully, evenly, without letting out the juice. They are quite sour and tart when raw, but when baked with sugar, vanilla, cinnamon and lemon, they acquire a perfect taste, between sour and sweet. The combination of textures of soft pulp and crunchy topping make a satisfying meal/dessert for any time of the day. I would classify it under all-around-comfort food. Good for you soul, good for your body.

Recipe adapted from Giallo Zafferano
time: 15 min preparation + 40 min baking + 15 cooling = 1h 10min

ingredients
apples

• 1 kg (2.25 lbs) apples, Renee variety work great
• juice from 1/2 lemon
• 70 g (1/3 cups) sugar
• 20 g (1 big Tablespoon) butter
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon

crumble

• 180 g (1 1/4 cups) flour
• 120 g (8 Tablespoons) cold butter
• 120 g (1/2 cup) brown sugar or regular
• 2 teaspoons vanilla sugar

instructions
to prepare apples

1. Preheat the oven to 180 C/355 F. Butter (extra butter) a glass dish. I used 30/20cm (12/8 inch) oval form. Peal, core, and cut apples in small (2 cm/about 1 inch) square shapes.
2. In a large frying pan, melt butter on medium heat. Add cut apples, lemon juice and sugar. Cook it for about 1 minutes. Turn the heat off.

to prepare crumble

1. In a medium bowl, sift flour, sugars and butter cut in small squares. Working fast with your fingers, make a crumble. The mix won't all get moist. Work for about a minute.
2. Transfer the apples from the pan onto the baking dish. Sprinkle it with the crumble. Place it in the hot oven for about 40 minutes. Fruit should be bubbling and the crumble should be slightly brown.
3. The dessert is even better if you combine it with vanilla ice cream.