Apple Crisp with Oat Topping

Before you start

An apple crisp is the simplest baked fruit dessert: sliced apples tossed with a little sugar and spice, covered with a crumbly mix of flour, oats, brown sugar and butter, and baked until the fruit is soft and the topping turns crunchy. Unlike a crumble in some British recipes, an American crisp nearly always includes oats, which add chew and keep the topping from turning sandy.

Use a mix of apples. Tart, firm varieties such as Granny Smith hold their shape, while sweeter ones like Honeycrisp, Gala or Jonagold soften and add flavor. A spoonful of cornstarch turns the juices into a light sauce, and a long enough bake lets them bubble and thicken. Cold butter rubbed into the topping, rather than melted, gives bigger, crunchier clusters.

Ingredients

• Apples1.2 kg (about 6 medium) mixed apples, such as Granny Smith and Honeycrisp — peeled, cored and sliced 6 mm (¼ in) thick
• 50 g (¼ cup packed) light brown sugar
• 8 g (1 tbsp) cornstarch
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• ⅛ tsp ground nutmeg
• pinch fine salt
• Oat topping100 g (¾ cup plus 1 tbsp, spooned and leveled) all-purpose flour
• 90 g (1 cup) old-fashioned rolled oats
• 100 g (½ cup packed) light brown sugar
• ½ tsp ground cinnamon
• ¼ tsp fine salt
• 115 g (½ cup) unsalted butter — cold, cubed
• 50 g (½ cup) chopped pecans or walnuts — optional

Method

1. Heat the oven to 190°C (375°F) with a rack in the center. Butter the baking dish lightly.
2. Toss the apple slices with the brown sugar, cornstarch, lemon juice, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt until evenly coated. Spread them in the dish, pressing them down into a fairly even layer.
3. For the topping, mix the flour, oats, brown sugar, cinnamon and salt. Rub in the cold butter with your fingertips until the mixture clumps into large crumbs when squeezed. Stir in the nuts if using.
4. Scatter the topping evenly over the apples, squeezing some into larger clusters. Do not pack it down.
5. Set the dish on a rimmed baking sheet and bake for 45 to 50 minutes, until the topping is deep golden, the juices bubble thickly around the edges and a paring knife slides easily into the apples. If the topping browns too early, cover it loosely with foil.
6. Rest for 20 minutes before serving warm, with vanilla ice cream or cream.

Tips for success

• Slice the apples evenly. Uneven slices leave some pieces mushy and others crunchy in the same spoonful.
• Chill the topping for 10 minutes before scattering it if your kitchen is warm; cold clusters stay crisp and distinct.
• Make a double batch of topping and freeze half. It goes straight from the freezer onto fruit.

Substitutions

All-purpose flour

Almond flour or oat flour makes a gluten-free topping if you use certified gluten-free oats. It browns faster and is slightly more fragile.

Butter

Cold coconut oil or plant-based butter sticks work for a dairy-free crisp. Coconut oil adds a mild coconut flavor.

Mixed apples

Pears work well; reduce the bake to 35 to 40 minutes and add an extra 1 tsp cornstarch, as they are juicier.

Variations

Apple cranberry

Add 100 g fresh or frozen cranberries to the apples and an extra 25 g sugar.

Maple pecan topping

Replace 25 g of the brown sugar in the topping with 2 tbsp maple syrup and use pecans.

Troubleshooting

The topping is soggy

It was packed down, made with melted butter, or the apples released too much juice. Use cold butter, scatter the topping loosely and include the cornstarch.

The apples are still crunchy

The slices were too thick or the bake was short. Slice to 6 mm and bake until a knife meets no resistance.

The filling turned to applesauce

The apples were all soft varieties. Mix in at least half firm, tart apples such as Granny Smith or Braeburn.

Storage

Cover and keep at room temperature for up to 1 day, or refrigerate for up to 4 days. Reheat at 175°C (350°F) for 15 minutes to recrisp the topping. Freeze the baked crisp for up to 3 months, or the unbaked crisp, tightly wrapped, and bake it from frozen, adding about 20 minutes.

Safety notes

Contains wheat and milk, and tree nuts if added. Oats are naturally gluten-free but often processed with wheat; use certified oats for gluten-free baking.