What’s Burnin – Mini Apple Crumble Pies

Although being swamped in freezing mist every other day does dispel the illusion slightly, cycling around the hills and fields in the slowly setting sun on Monday evening finally convinced me that we have made it through another winter. After a long hibernation, a pair of shorts was spotted emerging from its nest in the back of the wardrobe where it had hidden away for the last six months… So I decided a spot of summery baking was appropriate!

I came up with this recipe last August, while picking the apples off our two trees at home. At the time I was torn between making some toffee apple cupcakes or a classic crumble – eventually ending up with this happy medium. Much more shareable than a crumble and a nice change from ordinary pies, these are great served warm with fresh air and sunshine.

Ingredients:
For the stewed apples:
3 medium apples
1 tbsp caster sugar
2 tbsp water
For the bases:
85 g butter, softened
115 g light brown soft sugar
1 egg
115 g self-raising flour
3/4 tsp ground cinnamon
55 g oatmeal
For the topping:
50 g butter
100 g flour
50 g light brown soft sugar

It might look like a long list, but if you do some baking from time to time you’ll probably find most of it in your cupboard already. Start by stewing the apples: Peel, core and chop the apples into 1-2cm cubes and put in a small saucepan with a lid.

Add the water and caster sugar. Cover and bring to the boil, then turn down the heat to allow them to stew while you make the bases. Keep an eye on how soft they become, they should be ready in about 10 minutes. Remove from the heat when they resemble apple crumble filling.

To make the bases, preheat the oven to 180. Cream the butter and brown sugar together, then beat in the egg. In a separate bowl, combine the flour and cinnamon and sift into the mixture. Finally add the oats and mix it together with a wooden spoon. Put this to one side while you get on with the rest.

To make the topping, use your hands to work the butter and flour together until it forms small balls. (Be careful not to overdo it or it will become pastry!) Add the sugar and crumble together to form fine crumbs.

To assemble and bake, ideally use a 12-hole mince pie tin, but failing that a standard cupcake mould will do. Grease the mould and use a tablespoon to divide the mixture between them. Press flat then indent the middle with the back of the spoon or your thumb before using a teaspoon to add a small mound of apple to each. Be sure to leave about 2mm of base showing all the way round the edge. Finally spoon the crumble over the top, covering the apple and base. Bake for 10-15 minutes or until golden, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool. This is when you might find a few go missing…

Love it? Hate it? Improved it? Tell us in the comments!

Check out www.whatsburnin.com for more creative student recipes…