Apple Crisp – Tartine Bakery San Francisco

When making anything with apples, I like to use a variety to ensure a balance in flavour and texture and flavour, sweetness and tartness. Ideally, I choose three or four varieties and leave some of the skin on each of them if it has not gone though from the apples being in storage. Taste them and decide. You want some of the apples to turn to applesauce and some to keep their shape for this crisp. Among the firmer apples are Granny Smith, Greening, Gravenstein and Winesap. Sweeter apples are Golden Delicious, Empire, Gala, and Fuji. The McIntosh on the East Coast and Pink Lady on the West Coast have a good sweet-tart balance and bake up softer.

• Ready In: 1 hr 50 mins
• Serves: 10

Ingredients

• 3  lbs  assorted apples (1.3 kg)
• 1⁄4 cup sugar
• 3  tablespoons lemon juice
• 1  lemon, zest of, grated
• 1⁄8 teaspoon salt
• 1  cup unsalted butter, cold
• 1  cup sugar
• 1 1⁄4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1  tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 1⁄8 teaspoon salt

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350oF. Butter the bottom of the sides of a 9x13 baking dish. Peel (some or all, as you prefer)core and slice the apples, and place in a large mixing bowl. In a small bowl, stir together sugar, lemon juice and zest and salt. Add to the apples and toss together well with your hands. Transfer the apples to the prepared baking dish, and shake the dish to settle the apples into the crevices.
2. To make the topping, place the butter and sugar in a mixing bowl. Using mixer fitted with a whisk attachment on medium speed or wooden spoon, beat together until smooth. Add the flour, cinnamon, and salt and mix just until the mixture comes together in a smooth dough.
3. To top the crisp, scoop up palm-sized balls of the dough, flatten each scoop as if you were making a ¼ inch thick tortilla, and lay it on top of the apples. Cover the entire surface of the apples with dough rounds. Gaps in the topping are okay; they will allow the steam to escape during baking.
4. Bake the crisp until the apples are tender and the topping is golden brown, about 1 ½ hours. If the top is getting too dark before the crisp is done, cover it with aluminium foil. Let cool on wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature. The crisp will keep well in the refrigerator up to a week.