Rye Apple Brown Betty

Oo, dessert! I am still finding a way to have a few. This one worked very well, although I think next time I will crumble the breadcrumbs more finely. That will be a very minor tweak, though.

Apple Betty is a very old fashioned dessert; you hardly ever see it any more. It's another excellent thing to do with old bread, though, and now that I am willing to use a bit more butter than I used to be (as it turns out butter isn't the problem; it's the carbs) it's turning out better for me. Don't be afraid to use enough to get those breadcrumbs crisp and buttery. 

Otherwise this was a little zingy, a little sweet, and altogether tasty as a follow-up to a salad based meal. I used Empire apples which worked nicely and they are widely available. I like that they have quite a bit of tartness, and soften up without losing their shape.

You could use other bread than rye and have a more generous hand with the sugar, but I have to say that rye bread works really well with apples, and I thought this was quite sweet enough. The rye bread was a dark but light textured (Viking dark rye, to be precise).  

4 to 6 servings
1 hour - 40 minutes prep time
allow a little time to cool to warm

6 medium-large cooking apples
4 to 6 green cardamom pods
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
4 tablespoons Sucanat (dark brown sugar) or coconut sugar
150 grams (6 small slices) stale rye bread
4 tablespoons butter

Peel the apples, core, and slice them. Cook them in a saucepan over medium heat with a tablespoon or so of water until soft. Stir gently occasionally.

Meanwhile, crush the cardamom pods and discard the green papery hulls. Grind the seeds well and mix them with the cinnamon and the Sucanat. Cut the bread into small cubes then gently rub them to reduce them to coarse crumbs. Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Melt the butter in a shallow casserole that can go into the oven (and which will hold all the ingredients). Add the breadcrumbs and toss them in the butter, then cook them over medium heat for about 10 minutes, until lightly toasted and saturated with the butter. Sprinkle the sugar and spices over them, and mix in. Cook a minute or so longer then tip them out into a mixing bowl and replace them in the casserole with the apples.

Spread the apples to cover the bottom of the casserole evenly. Spread the sweetened, toasted breadcrumbs over the apples. Bake at 350°F for 20 minutes, until the breadcrumbs are crisp. Serve warm.





Last year at this time I made Pasta with Spinach, Roasted Squash, Shallots & Ricotta.

Posted in: Ontario Food