Combine two classics in this ultra-indulgent dessert. A cinnamon biscuit base, creamy vanilla filling, spiced apples and a buttery oaty crumble are drizzled generously with salted caramel sauce for a decadent finish
Abi is our former Junior Food Editor. An obsessive foodie with a sweet tooth, she is happiest when baking and is a firm believer that there is always room for dessert (preferably following a big bowl of pasta)
See more of Abigail Spooner’s recipes
Abigail Spooner
Abi is our former Junior Food Editor. An obsessive foodie with a sweet tooth, she is happiest when baking and is a firm believer that there is always room for dessert (preferably following a big bowl of pasta)
See more of Abigail Spooner’s recipes
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Ingredients
For the base
flavourless oil, to grease
200g digestive biscuits
½ tsp ground cinnamon
75g butter, melted
For the filling
500g mascarpone
400g full-fat soft cheese
150g caster sugar
3 tbsp cornflour
3 medium eggs
1½ tsp vanilla bean paste or extract
For the topping
3 Granny Smith apples
½ tbsp caster sugar
¼ tsp ground cinnamon
70g rolled oats
50g plain flour
40g light brown sugar
50g cold butter, diced
salted caramel sauce, to serve
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Step by step
Preheat the oven to 180°C, fan 160°C, gas 4. Brush a 23cm diameter springform tin with oil and line with baking paper. Blitz the digestives to a crumb in a food processor. Combine with the cinnamon and melted butter, stirring so the crumbs are well coated. Press evenly into the base of the tin; bake for 10 minutes. Leave to cool while you continue. Reduce the oven to 160°C, fan 140°C, gas 3.
For the filling, put all the ingredients in a large bowl. Beat with an electric whisk until smooth and thick. Set aside.
For the topping, peel, core and dice the apples into small chunks then toss with the caster sugar and cinnamon. For the crumble, mix the oats, flour, brown sugar and a pinch of salt in a bowl. Rub in the butter until the mixture forms small clumps.
To assemble, spoon the cheesecake mixture over the baked biscuit base in an even layer and place the tin on a baking tray. Scatter over the apples, followed by the crumble topping.
Bake for 1 hour 15 minutes to 1 hour 25 minutes until golden brown and with a bit of a wobble in the centre; it will continue to firm up as it cools so take care not to overbake. Turn the oven off and leave the cake to cool inside the oven for at least 2 hours. Remove from the oven, cool to room temperature (if necessary) and chill for at least 4 hours, ideally overnight.
Release from the tin and drizzle over salted caramel sauce to serve.
In a large bowl, toss together apples, granulated sugar, 2 tablespoons flour, lemon juice, cinnamon, and 1/4 teaspoon salt; transfer to prepared dish. In a bowl with an electric mixer, beat butter with brown sugar until fluffy. Mix in 1 cup flour and 1/2 teaspoon salt until large pieces form. Scatter over filling.
Dessert-wise, in this case, specifically apple centric, pie would be the apple filling encased in upper and lower pastry sheets with a nice decorative crimp at the join. A crumble is most usually the Apple filling directly in the dish with a crumble topping, most often basically made up of sugar, butter and flour.
However, we also love adding porridge oats for extra chewiness, as in these recipes for very-berry oat crumble and American-style apple crisp. Chopped and toasted nuts such as pecans, almonds or hazelnuts also make a lovely addition to a traditional crumble, for taste as well as an extra-crunchy texture.
The main reason your crumble topping isn't crunchy is probably because you haven't used Demerara sugar. Although, it could also be that you've got your topping ingredient quantities wrong: either too much or not enough flour and butter alongside the sugar.
Apple crisp is a dessert made with a streusel topping. In the US, it is also called apple crumble, a word which refers to a different dessert in the UK, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. Ingredients usually include cooked apples, butter, sugar, flour, cinnamon, and often oats and brown sugar, ginger, and/or nutmeg.
For this recipe, you'll need excellent baking apples. They should have a firm texture and hold their shape when cooked. Some of my favorite types of apples for baking include Honeycrisp, Gala, Pink Lady, and Granny Smith apples. Choose just one, or use a mix!
The main reason your crumble topping isn't crunchy is probably because you haven't used Demerara sugar. Although, it could also be that you've got your topping ingredient quantities wrong: either too much or not enough flour and butter alongside the sugar.
Apple crumble recipe topping is typically made of butter, sugar and flour which gets topped on the cooked fruit filling. To add an extra element of texture and flavour, oats, coconut, nuts and cinnamon can be added to the crumble mix.
Like an apple crisp, an apple crumble is a baked fruit dessert with a layer of topping. But unlike the crisp, the crumble topping rarely includes oats or nuts. Instead, a crumble's topping is more like streusel, made with flour, sugar and butter.
There is no difference, crumble and streusel can sometimes be different but in this case they are the same. The streusel or crumble is made from butter, flour, sugar, and vanilla.
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Prep time: 45 mins
