Sunday 11 November 2012

Apple and Almond Crumble Slice













I was looking for something sweet to go with my new favourite tea -  Oolong Ginseng Tea - which I totally fell in love with in China. I mean I really fell in love with it! I passed over pots of beer for it, that's how much I loved it. I'd take a bath in it if I could justify wasting all that lovely tea.

The original recipe for this fruity little slice calls for raspberries, but I nearly had a heart attack when I saw the price of raspberries here at the moment, so I opted for apples and it really works. Of course it works, a.p.p.l.e. - c.r.u.m.b.l.e... hello, not a new idea!

Anyhooooo... It turns out, Apple and Almond Crumble Slice and Oolong Ginseng Tea are a superb combination, they go together like pretzels dipped in chocolate... and I know you've done that before...


Apple and Almond Crumble Slice
slightly adapted from Janelle Bloom's Family Food & Weekend Feasts

1 1/2 cups plain flour
3/4 cup ground almonds
3/4 cup caster sugar
200g unsalted butter, chopped
about 4 medium apples, peeled and cut into small dice
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 cup sliced natural almonds
icing sugar, for dusting

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C fan-forced. Grease a 2 1/2cm -deep, 11cm x 34cm rectangle tart pan.

Put the apples into a medium saucepan with 1 teaspoon of the cinnamon and 1 tablespoon water. Heat over low heat until the apples have softened, but still keep their shape. Remove from the heat and allow to cool.

Combine the flour, ground almonds, caster sugar and butter in a food processor. Process until the dough almost comes together. Transfer to a lightly floured bench and gently kneed until smooth. Press two-thirds of the dough over the base of the prepared pan. Bake for 15-18 minutes, until light golden. Set aside to cool for 15 minutes.

Increase the oven temperature to 200 degrees C fan-forced. Scatter the apples over the lukewarm base. Crumple the remaining one-third of the dough evenly over the apples, then sprinkle with the almonds. Press down gently on the almonds and topping to secure them to the apples. Sprinkle with the remaining cinnamon.

Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until the top is light golden. Allow to cool for 1 hour in the pan. Cut into fingers and serve lukewarm or at room temperature, dusted with icing sugar.

9 comments:

  1. this looks really lovely! what a delicious recipe, and your pictures are beautiful!

    i have a TON of plums lying around from the farmer's market, so i may try this recipe with them! thanks for sharing!

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  2. this looks really lovely! what a delicious recipe, and your pictures are beautiful!

    i have a TON of plums lying around from the farmer's market, so i may try this recipe with them! thanks for sharing!

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  3. I just am so in awe of your photos. And I also am astounded at the price of raspberries. Sometimes they do go on sale - but you have to look really carefully. This dessert looks so yummy and so fattening!
    Hope you get to post some pictures of China.

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  4. Yummm!! I love when I can use my tart plate like this rectangular one! We're almost at the end of the apple season here and I could end it with this wonderful dessert. Just the pictures, yummm :)

    I'm curious with this tea now!! I love tea and since we're in the autumn right now, I drank some everyday! I'll check to find some of this one :)

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  5. Hey Marie, thank you for your lovely comment. Plums are one of my favourite fruits and they would be delicious in this recipe.

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  6. Thanks Patty. Raspberries really do fluctuate in price here too. We live very close to berry farm, but they aren't in season until about another month.
    I shall post more pictures of China soon. The photo of all the tea tins in this post were taken in a tea shop in Beijing... I didn't bring that many home with me (but I would have if I could have) :P

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  7. Hey Gabrielle. I use this tart pan more than I thought I would when I bought it. Go for it with your end-of-season apples.

    You've got to get some of this tea, Gabrielle it's so good - fragrant with a naturally sweet finish.

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  8. Aaaaaannd, here we go.. I'm so glad you are back!! This looks like perfection on a plate. Just the name alone draws you in, anything with the word crumble in and I'm there! I took some pics yesterday of my famous...well Centre, AL. famous...cowboy cookies and was trying to channel your photo eye:) I hope to have them up on Flickr tomorrow if Monday doesn't hurt me too bad:) G'night deary... or good morning to you:)

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  9. Hey Leah. Yes, I'm up to my old tricks again :) I'm with the you, the word CRUMBLE is like a sirens' call to me LOL. I can't wait to see your famous cowboy cookies - my mouth is watering in anticipation.

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