Apple Crumble

For Christmas, my family gave me Gordon Ramsay's Maze (recipes by Jason Atherton), cookbook. I love to cook and one of my favorite things to to do at the bookstore is to pour over cookbooks. 

Yesterday, I tried my first recipe from Maze. It was a simple apple crumble recipe, and I loved how it turned out. 

*This is a very good recipe to use when you have apples that are going soft. 

Apple Crumble with Hazelnuts

Apple Compote:

4 lb (10-12 whole) apples

3/4 cup granulated sugar

3 1/2 tbsp unsalted butter

1/4 tsp pure vanilla extract 

Crumble:

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 cup granulated sugar

pinch (1/8 tsp) ground cinnamon

3 1/2 tbsp unsalted butter 

1/3 cup toasted hazelnuts, lightly crushed 

(Optional: I used chopped pecans, which were very good)

First, peal, core and chop the apples. 

Put the chopped apples in a wide skillet with the sugar, butter, and vanilla. 

Cook over medium-low heat for 15-20 minutes until the apples are just soft, but still holding their shape. Spoon the apple compote into a shallow ovenproof dish, and let cool. 

For the crumble, put the flour, sugar, cinnamon, and butter into a food processor, and pulse until the mixture resembles fine bread crumbs (Alternative: use a pastry blender, by hand).

Stir in the crushed hazelnuts or pecans, then spread over the apple filling. 

Preheat the oven to 400 F. Bake for about 25 minutes until golden brown and crisp on top. 

Spoon  and serve with vanilla ice-cream, or fresh whipped cream.