[Almost] Instant Apple Crumble

[Almost] Instant Apple Crumble

This is one of those recipes where your guests probably won’t believe you whipped up in 10 minutes. So probably best to just keep that between you and me. It’s pretty amazing what you can do with a can of sliced apples, a packet of cookies and some almonds. If you are catering for anyone with nut allergies, ditch the almonds and increase the amount of cookies a little.

enough for 2
takes: 10 minutes
4 tablespoons butter
1 medium can sliced apples (or pears) (approximately 400g / 14oz)
4 butternut snap or plain oatmeal cookies, finely chopped
1/2 cup whole almonds, roughly chopped
vanilla ice cream, to serve

1. Melt half the butter in a large frying pan over a high heat.

2. Add drained apple. Stir fry until apple is warm and a little browned at the edges, approximately 4 minutes.

3. Divide apple between 2 ramekins or other serving bowls. Keep warm.

4. Melt remaining butter over a high heat. Stir fry cookies and almonds over until golden.

5. Sprinkle cookie mixture over the apple and serve immediately with ice cream.

Variations

dairy-free / vegan – use a vegetable or nut oil instead of the butter. Serve without icecream (terrible, I know – lemon sorbet or coconut ice cream may be an OK dairy-free accompaniment)

gluten-free – use gluten free cookies. In Australia rice cookies are fine. Or replace the cookies with 4 tablespoons quinoa flakes and a tablespoon brown sugar – this won’t have the same texture but the almonds will help with the crunch factor.

nut-free – replace almonds with an extra 2 cookies.

fresh apple – finely slice 2 apples and cook in the butter until soft and a little brown. Will take longer, 10-15 minutes.

paleo (grain + dairy-free) – replace cookies with almonds. Use coconut ice cream or cream.

Waste Avoidance Strategy

apples, cookies, almonds – keep them in the pantry.

vanilla ice cream – freezer.

Problem Solving Guide

not hot enough – make sure you cook the apples for long enough to warm them up properly. Good idea to preheat the ramekins or whatever else you’re planning to serve.

prefer to cook crumble the old fashioned way? – no dramas. Pop the apples into ramekins or a 2 cup capacity ovenproof dish. Top with almonds and cookies. Chop butter and sprinkle over the top. Bake in a 200C (400F) preheated oven for 15-20minutes or until sizzling.

not sweet enough – I’ve noticed that canned fruit in juice isn’t as supersweet as sugar syrup canned fruit. If you’re using fruit juice canned fruit, you may like to sprinkle in a little sugar when pan frying – this will help with the caramelisation process as well.

crumble topping burnt – because we’re cooking smallish crumbs of cookie and nuts it can be easy to burn the smaller crumbs. Best to keep an eye on it and stir frequently and remove from the heat as soon as you think it’s done.

Leftover Potential:

Excellent. Reheat in the oven or back in the frying pan