September 20, 2012

apple crumble buckle

Something about the crisp weather and the fire and cozy animals made me hungry for something sweet and yummy yesterday. So, after taking stock of what baking supplies I had on hand (only one stick of butter! The horror!) and the big bag of apples in our pantry, I decided to try a buckle.

I've been a lifelong fan of crumbles, and crisps are pretty high up on my list of favorite desserts, but I've never made a buckle. Or maybe I have, I'm not really sure what makes a proper buckle. This one was a mix of several recipes I found when browsing around pinterest, a little bit buckle, a little bit crumble, and so yummy. It tasted like fall.
I had intended to give the kids a slice when they came off the bus but there were too many things to hear about - Briton got to play the symbols in band (please oh please don't send them home with him to practice) A boy in Evie's class keeps saying she has a crush on him but she doesn't, because he likes to burp and she would NEVER have a crush on a boy who likes to burp (which probably rules out most of the under 20's for her, thank goodness), they are choosing lab partners in science, Briton knew almost all of the countries on his geography quiz thanks to a combination of Risk and the Princess Bride ("I even knew Greenland. NO ONE knew Greenland, but I did, because, you know 'Unemployed....In Greenland'") And then it was time for soccer and then baths and then dinner.
But eventually, reheated on top of the wood stove after the kids had gone to bed, we dug in. Will said I should write it down so I don't forget and to not tweak it next time, because he liked it just as it is. So here we go, the apple crumble buckle. No tweaking. Except, maybe next time with some blackberries thrown in?

Apple Crumble Buckle

This makes a pretty small dessert, enough for four medium servings really. I baked it in my smallish casserole pot and it was perfect but I bet you could double it and make a big one for a crowd and it would be just as delicious. The buckle part is not very sweet, which works well with the very sweet crumble. So make sure you take a bite of all the layers at once!

For the buckle:
3/4 cup plus 2 T flour
1 tsp baking powder
dash of salt
1/4 cup butter
1/3 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup sour cream
1 1/2 cup apples, cored but not peeled and cut into chunks
1 tsp cinnamon

For the crumble:
1/4 cup butter, cubed
1/4 cup white sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar (packed)
1/2 cup flour
1 tsp vanilla

Beat the butter and sugar for the buckle until they are well creamed then add the egg, vanilla and sour cream. Mix until combined. Sprinkle the flour, baking powder and salt over the mixture and  beat lightly until just combined. Pour into the bottom of a buttered pan and top with apples. Sprinkle the cinnamon over the top.

In a food processor, pulse all ingredients until combined then crumble over the apples

Bake at 350 for 40 minute or until a knife pushed in comes out clean.