Friday Faves – Becky Bakes makes Caramel Apple Crisp
Well, as you can see, Fall is in full swing over here. As I mentioned, Hubby and I are off to Canada to see some sites. Tuesday was my Friday this week (love two day weeks!), but for those of you what had to work all week, I’m sure you’re exited that the weekend will be here soon. For today’s Friday Favs, I bring you a fellow baker. Becky from Becky Bakes has a Hubby who doesn’t like sweets and four kids including a newborn. A couple of her children have food allergies, so many of her recipes are allergy friendly. Be sure to check out Becky’s blog for all sorts of deliciousness!
Hi! I’m Becky from Becky Bakes. I am a self-professed baking addict. Which means I can’t spend more than a few days out of the kitchen before I’m dying to get back in there and make something sweet! I’m so excited to be posting here at Beantown Baker today! Thanks so much for having me Jen.
I love baking any ol’ time of year but fall is my favorite. The cool, crisp air just begs me to turn the oven on. Plus, fall baking aromas are amazing. Earthy spices, fruity apples and pumpkin! I have been doing lots of baking with apples lately but the recipe I’m sharing today is at the top of my list to repeat soon. So, so good!! Entirely worth the few simple steps it takes to make.
Ahhh…this caramel is heavenly!!
This apple crisp is wonderful all by itself but once it’s topped with vanilla bean ice cream and homemade caramel sauce it is absolute bliss. Caramel Apple Crisp is fall comfort food at its finest!
Caramel Apple Crisp
Ingredients:
For the Apple Filling:
5 cups apples (your favorite variety)
1/3 cup sugar
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1 Tbsp flour
1 tsp vanilla
For the Crisp Topping:
6 Tbsp cold butter, cut into small pieces
3/4 cup flour
3/4 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
For the Caramel Topping:
1 cup sugar
1 Tbsp corn syrup
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup heavy cream (heated)
2 Tbsp unsalted butter (room temperature)
1 tsp vanilla
Directions:
To make the Apple Filling:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Peel and slice apples and toss with remaining ingredients. Pour apples into a buttered 8x8 pan. Set aside.
To make the Crisp Topping:
Toss together the butter and flour until the butter is evenly coated. Add the oats and both sugars and blend into butter mixture until it resembles coarse crumbs. Clean hands work good for this step. Sprinkle over apples. Bake 30-40 minutes or until golden brown and bubbly.
To make the Caramel Topping:
Heat the sugar, syrup, and water in a sauce pan, stirring constantly. Bring to a boil. When it boils stop stirring and let it turn a medium amber color. Remove from heat and slowly pour in the warm heavy cream. Stir the mixture until it is smooth with a wooden spoon. (If any lumps form return to heat and stir them away.) Stir in the butter. Allow the sauce to cool for a few minutes and stir in the vanilla extract. Can be made ahead, refrigerate until ready to use.
To serve:
Grab your favorite dish. Dish up some warm apple crisp, add a big scoop of vanilla bean ice cream, smother in caramel sauce. Savor every bite!!
Recipe inspired by Closet Cooking
I am Jen the Beantown Baker. Engineer by day and baking maven by night. Hubby serves as my #1 fan and official taste tester. We got hitched back in 2006. Barefoot. In the sand. With the waves crashing behind us. It was one of the best decisions we’ve ever made. 
I am of two minds on this post. On the one hand, my OCD really kicked in when I read that you had not followed Mark Bittman’s recipe but still decided to write about it. Seemed a bit sloppy for a nerd and an engineer. On the other hand, that is how Pasteur discovered Penicillin. Bittman is such a great cook, that I think he deserves better treatment; so I plan to do him the honor of making his recipe. I am not going to make the other two though!
Oops! Senior moment that – it was the Scottish scientist and Nobel laureate Alexander Fleming in 1928. Apparently, the Pasteur Institut ignored the work of a French physician, Ernest Duchesne, who in 1897 discovered the curative properties of the Penicillium Glaucum, a different mold than the one Fleming discovered, but in the same genus. Gotta love Wikipedia.
There are two tapioca recipes on the Minute Tapioca box. I always use the one for Fluffy Pudding, which calls for 2 cups milk and whipping the egg whites separately from the cooked milk with tapioca and egg yolk. I think you will find the pudding much improved over the basic recipe.
Also, the quality of the vanilla makes a huge difference in something like tapioca. Cooks Illustrated likes McCormick and I found this on amazon and at Sam’s Club in large bottles for very reasonable prices.
One other note: I find that CI has a sweet tooth: their recipes are sometimes too sweet for my taste, though they are a go-to source otherwise.
This is an interesting discussion. I tried the Kraft recipe today. I threw everything (except the vanilla) in the blender before putting it on the stove. I also added 1/2 tsp. salt and a bit more vanilla. I actually thought it was sweet enough already, though. However, I agree with your overall conclusion that it’s a bit boring. Well, at least it was easy. Anyway, next time I may a recipe using large tapioca. 🙂
Thanks for the comparison.