Apple-Ginger Panache Crumble

“The ginger is the thing wherein I’ll catch the essence of the zing…” So might Hamlet have said were he making this recipe. But it’s true–the thing that turns this from a perfectly average crumble to a really great crumble is the zing of the crystallized ginger (well, and the citrus, I think). My sister-in-law made it sans crystallized ginger and with less butter, and found it mediocre. Use abundant butter, and make sure you have all requisite spices too.

I was a skeptic until I tried it, but the freshly-grated nutmeg really is superior to the stale stuff that sits in your spice jar for several years! Now I get excited whenever a recipe calls for nutmeg–even though it’s not one of my favorite flavors on its own. Unlike with front-and-center spices like cinnamon or vanilla or ginger, you don’t usually want your tasters to say “oh, this has a nutmeg flavor!” Think of nutmeg like makeup foundation. If it’s the first thing you notice on a woman’s face, her makeup has failed her. It should be there, discretely enhancing and blending with the more panache-ey elements like blush or lipstick.  Or, to switch metaphors, while cinnamon and vanilla are like the showey violin and cello in a string trio, nutmeg has the humility of the viola–making the music hang together while everyone says “mmm vanilla bean!”

This recipe is adapted from pages 221-2 of the Smitten Kitchen Every Day: Triumphant and Unfussy New Favorites cookbook, which you really should be buying everyone on your gift list in hopes that they’ll love it so much they’ll gift you a copy too next birthday. Because this is the kind of cookbook the world needs more of: cleverly innovative, diverse, and utterly approachable. Deb Perelman calls this recipe “Wintry Apple Bake with Double Ginger Crumble.” I like to call it “Apple-Ginger Panache Crumble.” If a crumble could speak with panache and take a dramatic bow after introducing you to its flavors, this one would. And it’s at its best day 2. So if you make it for guests, be sure to make extra.

Filling:

• 3 large, firm, tart apples (I used winesap)
• Zest and juice of half a lemon
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 5-7 gratings of fresh nutmeg
• A pinch of ground cloves
• 1 Tbs Grand Marnier (feel free to improvise with other liqueurs, but I love the bright citrus against the mellow apples)
• Contents of half a vanilla bean (or 1.5 tsp vanilla extract)
• 3 Tbs granulated sugar
• Pinch of salt

Topping:

• 2/3 cup butter
• 1/4 cup dark brown sugar
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 1/2 cup almond meal
• 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 2 Tbs (or more) minced crystallized ginger

Preheat oven to 375

Peel, core, and slice apples into 3/4-1 inch wedges. Arrange in 2.5 quart stoneware baking dish. (The original recipe uses a 9×13 inch baking dish, which would probably work just fine too, though the apples and topping will be a little less densely-packed.) 

In a small bowl, combine remaining filling ingredients and mix well. Pour over apple slices and toss to coat.

Melt butter in large bowl or saucepan and stir in sugars. Stir in remaining topping ingredients. Clumps should form quickly, but if not, just add a smidge more flour until they do.

Sprinkle clumps over apples, and voila! pop it into the oven. Cook until apples are fairly tender to the poke and topping is lightly browned, about 30-40 minutes. Serve warm with softly whipped cream.

(Perelman’s recipe says 40-45 minutes, and maybe my oven or the adjustments in dishes made a bigger difference than anticipated, but mine was done much closer to the 30-40 minute mark, and that was even with turning the temp down when it starting browning faster than I wanted it to.)