Apple Cobbler

Quick and simple, with a crumb that is part cake, part steamed dumpling.

Clockwise from top left: apple cobbler; Swedish textile with apples; apple seller in Paddington, London; Creation and Fall of Adam and Eve at Modena Cathedral, Italy, sculpture by Willigelmo, 1099; apple trees in Sebastopol; apple cobbler

There isn’t another fruit that carries as much mythology, artistic reverence, pharmacological use, and recipes throughout history as the apple. I have spent an inordinate amount of time reading up on pomological history, which is why I know there are several excellent websites (such as this British one) lengthily discussing a single apple recipe called a Norfolk Biffin or “Beefing,” which is a whole, very slowly baked skin-on apple, weighted—the end result being like a little cake with concentrated apple flavor. This is just for one example; there are too many to count.

To me, a perfect synonym for apple is ‘home’. It’s not for nothing that realtors set pots of apple cider to simmer with pie spices in a home they are showing to increase the likelihood of a sale. I wonder if there were recipes from a thousand years ago to “put the pressed juice of thine orchard’s apples to the pot over a fire with the bark of cinnamon the length of a hen’s leg to entife the buyer and overlook the smell of the dampe and drearie lyte upon thine castle”. This has to exist somewhere.

You see? I’m waxing on about apples like apples hired me to pitch them. “Apples: you loved them for centuries, and they’re still the best fruit!”

On to the recipe: It’s a pretty quick dessert, from mix-to-mouth, ready to eat in under 45 minutes. The cake is a little crunchy on top from the coarse-crystal sugar, and soft and dumpling-like inside where the fruit juices steam in the batter. I cut my apples a little thinner than I would for a pie so they will cook through in the same time it takes the batter to bake.

This recipe can be made dairy free by using nut or oat milk and vegan butter. Leave the apple skins on for a nice contrast in texture and have cream or ice cream to serve with.

RECIPE
Makes one 7” X 11” baking dish

• 85g / 6 Tbs unsalted butter (or vegan butter), melted and cooled

• 1 lg egg

• 120 ml / 1/2 C milk, cow or nut milk

• 1/4 tsp salt

• 1 tsp vanilla

• 120g / 1/2 C + 4 tsp sugar

• 150g / 1 C + 5 tsp C gf flour

• 1 tsp baking powder

• 5 small apples, cored and sliced plus 1 small, cored and sliced apple for topping

• 2-3 Tbs large crystal sugar (or granulated)

Preheat oven to 350°f.

Butter the bottom and sides of the baking dish and arrange the 5 apples in the bottom.

Whisk butter, egg, milk, salt, and vanilla together until smooth. In a separate bowl, combine the sugar, flour, and baking powder and whisk together. Mix the wet ingredients into the dry, and pour over prepared fruit, arranging the slices. Top with reserved apple slices.

Sprinkle the large crystal or granulated sugar on top, and bake approximately 30 minutes. Check cake. It may require more time, depending on the size of your baking dish and how thick the apple slices are. It should be golden brown on top, with a steamed dumpling-like interior.

Eat warm with whipped cream or ice cream. A drizzle of caramel sauce would be very, very good.

Store covered in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. If reheating, cover in foil and bake in a 350 oven for 10 minutes or until warm.