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Brown Butter Apple Crumble

Brown Butter Apple Crumble with a golden, crisp topping, served in a white ceramic pie dish.
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This brown butter apple crumble takes an already delicious dessert to another level. Browning the butter brings out a rich, nutty, almost caramel-like flavour that gives the crumble topping so much more depth. The result is a beautifully golden, buttery crumble with crisp clusters and delicate, tender crumbs, sitting over soft, cinnamon-spiced Bramley apples. It’s comforting, indulgent and utterly delicious.

  • Author: zenak
  • Prep Time: 20 minutes
  • Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
  • Yield: 6 1x

Ingredients

Scale

For the crumble:

  • 40g rolled oats
  • 150g salted butter
  • 160g plain flour
  • 150g golden caster sugar

For the apple filling:

  • 600g Bramley apples
  • 75g golden caster sugar
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon

Instructions

  1. Heat your oven to 190°C/170°C fan.
  2. Peel, core and halve the apples, then cut them into 1cm-thick slices. Transfer to a large mixing bowl, then add the golden caster sugar and cinnamon and toss well to coat. Transfer to a 23cm round baking dish and spread into an even layer. Set aside while you make the crumble.
  3. Place the rolled oats in a heatproof mixing bowl.
  4. Add the butter to a light-coloured saucepan and set over a medium heat. Cook, stirring or swirling the pan regularly, until the butter melts, foams and the milk solids turn a deep golden brown. It should smell rich and nutty. Remove from the heat as soon as it’s ready.
  5. Immediately pour the hot brown butter over the oats, making sure to scrape in all the browned milk solids. Stir thoroughly until the oats are coated, then leave to cool for 10 minutes.
  6. Meanwhile, whisk together the plain flour and golden caster sugar in a separate bowl. Add to the brown butter and oat mixture, then stir until everything is evenly combined. The mixture will feel very wet and buttery — this is exactly how it should be. Don’t be tempted to add more flour.
  7. Using your fingertips, gently squeeze and break the wet crumble mixture into small, irregular crumbs and larger clusters, scattering them over the apples as you go. Continue until all the filling is covered in an even layer, without pressing the topping down.
  8. Bake on the middle rack of your oven for 40 to 45 minutes, or until the crumble is golden brown and the apple juices are bubbling around the edges.
  9. Remove from the oven and leave to stand for 15 minutes before serving.

Notes

Browning the butter: Keep an eye on the butter as it browns, particularly once the foaming begins to subside. The milk solids can go from golden brown to burnt quite quickly. Make sure to include all the browned bits when pouring the butter over the oats, as these contribute much of the nutty flavour.

The crumble texture: Unlike a traditional crumble made by rubbing cold butter into flour, this topping starts with liquid brown butter. The mixture will feel much wetter than you might expect, but it bakes into a beautifully crumbly topping with crisp, golden clusters. Resist the urge to add extra flour.

The apples: Use Bramley cooking apples for their distinctive tartness and soft texture. The 600g weight refers to the whole apples before peeling and coring.

Find it online: https://zenaskitchen.com/brown-butter-apple-crumble/

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