The Best Vegan Apple Crisp Recipe - Build Your Bite (2024)

FAQs

How do you thicken apple crisp? ›

Adding cornstarch and flour to the apple mixture will help bring your crisp's filling together. You want to make sure you have a nice balance of the sweet and tart in your dessert.

Why is Apple Crisp not crispy? Don't forget to evenly distribute the butter with the topping. That melted butter helps crisp everything up on top for the perfect texture and flavor!

Apple Crumble is synonymous with Apple Crisp in the U.K. and Australia, but in Canada and the U.S., it is a slightly different dish. Like an apple crisp, an apple crumble is a baked fruit dessert with a layer of topping. But unlike the crisp, the crumble topping rarely includes oats or nuts.

What Makes A Good Apple For Apple Crisp? The best apples for baking keep their structure under heat, which prevents the chunks of fruit from turning into mush after baking. The firm and crisp Granny Smith and Honeycrisp varieties are popular apples to use in apple pies and apple crisps.

“I have used tapioca flour in place of cornstarch for crisps, pie fillings, and cobblers,” Guas says. “The rough substitution is 2 tablespoons of tapioca flour for 1 tablespoon cornstarch.” Another significant benefit of tapioca is that it freezes well, keeping your baked goods the perfect consistency.

Cornstarch or arrowroot starch – this is how we get a thick and not watery apple crisp!

SweeTango: SweeTango apples naturally have larger cells giving them an extraordinary crunch and perfect fracture, in fact, it won the Guinness World Record for the World's loudest crunch ever!

Softer apples like Red Delicious, Golden Delicious, or Macintosh break down too much in the heat of the oven, basically turning into applesauce. So avoid those, and opt for a variety that's firm and crisp like Granny Smith, Fuji, Gala, or Honeycrisp. They'll turn velvety soft while still retaining their shape.

This has led some historians to believe that Betty was the name of the cook and creator of the recipe and that brown was in reference to her skin color.

Bake the apple crisp until the fruit is bubbling and the topping is golden brown and crisp, about 45 minutes. Serve the crisps warm with vanilla bean ice cream or fresh whipped cream, if desired.

Should I refrigerate apple crisp? ›

Apple Crisp is very much like apple pie in that it doesn't NEED to be refrigerated, but the shelf life will be extended if you do store it in the refrigerator. I recommend storing it on the countertop for up to two days, or up to four days in the refrigerator.

As mellow as sweet apples come, Gala apples are known for their sweet, vanilla aroma and soft bite. Bittersweet and soft fleshed, the Red Delicious is a classic apple with mild crispiness. The Golden Delicious sits at the bottom of the crunch list with soft skin and mellow, yellow apple flavors.

Under the simple butter-sugar-flour-and-oat topping is the apple filling scented with cinnamon. Our test kitchen says baking apples, like Rome or Cortland, are the best varieties to use for apple crisp, but Empire, Gala, or Braeburn apples are also good in this recipe.

Storage quality also varies by cultivar. The best apples to store long-term have thick skin and tend to be crisp and tart. Apple varieties such as Gala, Granny Smith, Fuji, McIntosh, Winesap, Honeycrisp, Northern Spy, and Rome are known to store very well given the proper conditions.

Cornstarch has thickening power similar to Instant ClearJel. Like flour, it lends a cloudy, semi-transparent look to filling. It can also give filling a starchy taste. For full effectiveness, make sure the pie filling is bubbling up through the crust before removing your pie from the oven.

The ingredient list for a crumble or crisp is relatively short, but don't be tempted to leave out the cornstarch. As fruit cooks, it releases its juices, becoming saucy and soupy. This is partially what makes a crisp so delicious—but also what can turn it from a casserole-style dessert into fruit soup.

But if you feel your topping is still too dry and crumbly, (even for a crumble) add a bit more melted butter, a tablespoon at a time. If you think it's too wet, add a little more flour to soak up the extra butter.

When thickening a fruit pie filling, there are several options to consider. Very often flour or cornstarch is used, but in certain instances tapioca, arrowroot and potato starch can also help achieve the desired consistency.