Apple Pear Crisp

All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy, and Radhika a disgruntled girl.  I started a new job this month guys. Actually TWO new jobs (it is here that I must interject with an apology for the lack of posts this month). And teaching has not turned out to be such a piece of cake. For the past one month I have been studying like I have exams everyday! But what I did discover was, being disgruntled = awesome food!

I had ordered Dorie Greenspan’s Baking: From My Home toYours quite a while back and had been itching to try another recipe from it. However due to a lack of time I got around to making this apple crisp only yesterday! And boy, was I in a rush even then. You see, I had to make some notes (the same ones, again!) for my students because they had been misplaced. But the result was this delicious apple crisp that had an unbelievable contrast in flavor as well as texture.

I played around with the recipe a bit and used only 2 apples instead of 4 and put in 2 pears. I read up a lot on the correct quantity of fresh ginger that would be a substitute for ground ginger powder and ended up using only 1 teaspoon of it instead of the prescribed 1 tablespoon. I didn’t bother getting my measuring scale out and threw in what only looked like a teaspoon of cinnamon, what looked like a teaspoon of ginger and what looked like 115 grams of butter! The result though, was stupendous.

The crispy layer was grainy with a hint of cinnamon and ginger and held together by lots of butter. The next layer which was bubbling all around the crisp in the oven consisted of the apples and pears. They released all their juices and became utterly moist and flavorful. The cranberries all went to the bottom along with the sugar. The sugar caramelized and had a tinge of bitterness that was the perfect foil for the tartness of the cranberries. I had this crisp after / for three meals straight – served straight from the oven after dinner, chilled with a hot glass of milk for breakfast and warm with cold vanilla ice cream as an afternoon snack. Just thinking of it is making my mouth water and I think I need to make this again next week!

Adapted from Baking: From My Home to Yours

Makes 8 servings

Ingredients

For the topping

¾ cup all purpose flour

½ cup light brown sugar (packed)

½ cup oats

½ cup shredded dried coconut

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 tablespoon fresh grated ginger

1 stick (115 gms) cold butter, cut into pieces

For the filling

2 medium apples, peeled and cut into ½ inch chunks

2 medium pears, peeled and cut into ½ inch chunks

½ cup dried cranberries

2/3 cup sugar

1 tablespoon all purpose flour

1. Preheat the oven to 375 F or 190 C. Lightly butter 8 oven proof bowls and place on a baking sheet.
2. To make the topping: Put all the ingredients together and beat with a hand mixer on medium speed till it all comes together.
3. To make the filling: Toss all the ingredients together in a large bowl.
4. Divide the fruit evenly among the cups, then spoon an equal amount of topping over each portion. Bake the crisps for 40 – 45 minutes, or until the topping is golden and the fruit juices are bubbling up around it. transfer the cups to a rack for 10 minutes before serving.