What's For Dessert: Cast Iron Skillet Apple Crumble

Just because I'm watching what I eat a little more closely these days doesn't mean I'm totally depriving myself of dessert. With a large group of friends in town this weekend, I opted to make an apple crumble to share one evening. To up the ante slightly (and, sure, to make it a little more blogworthy), I baked the crumble in a cast iron skillet. 

The ingredients I used are typical to apple crumbles I've made in the past, through I subbed in almond flour for the all-purpose flour as a simple switch to make the dessert gluten-free. I used an 8" skillet, but a 10" skillet would probably be a better choice, as I had to do a lot of stirring to ensure the apples cooked evenly. 

This crumble is best served warm from the oven (or given a quick warm-up in the oven for a few minutes at 350 degrees if it has cooled completely) with a generous scoop of vanilla bean ice cream on the side.

Cast Iron Skillet Apple Crumble (printer-friendly version)

makes 6-8 servings

For the apple filling:

6 Granny Smith apples, cored, peeled, and cut into thin slices

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

1/4 cup light brown sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon fine sea salt

dash ground nutmeg

2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

For the crumble topping:

1 cup rolled oats

2 tablespoons almond flour

1/4 cup chopped pecans

1/4 cup light brown sugar

1/8 teaspoon fine sea salt

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon 

1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon freshly grated lemon zest

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold 

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Peel, core, and thinly slice the apples. (I love my handy old-fashioned machine for this task.)

3. Melt the butter in a cast iron skillet over medium heat. Add the brown sugar, cinnamon, salt, and nutmeg and stir.

4. Add the apple slices and lemon juice to the sugar mixture and stir to coat. Stirring frequently, cook the apples until just beginning to soften, 10-15 minutes.

5. Remove the skillet from the heat and set aside.

6. Add the oats, almond flour, chopped pecans, sugar, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and lemon zest to the bowl of a food processor. Pulse to combine. Add in the butter and pulse until the topping just begins to form small clumps. Sprinkle the topping evenly over the apples.

7. Bake for 35-45 minutes, or until the topping is golden brown and the apples are cooked through.

8. Let cool for a few minutes before serving. 

(adapted from this Buns in My Oven recipe)