Caramel apple crisp

I love apple crisp (or apple crumble to my UK readers). Throw in a healthy dose of cinnamon and I am crumbly sugar coma heaven. The thing is my husband makes a darn good crumble so it's a dessert I don't get the chance to try out very often.

I've been pondering a version using caramel for a little while now and I managed to try it out last weekend. It was a little wetter than I'd anticipated but I think it's because I used tinned caramel instead of making my own. When I make it again I'll make my own caramel as I'm sure it'd be even more decadent and rich.

You can't really go wrong with this recipe, any apples will suffice and I used granny smiths as I like the baked tartness they bring which I find pairs well with decent vanilla ice cream - a must have when it's served hot from the oven. 

If you look close you can see the vanilla specks in the topping before it goes into the oven!

Caramel apple crisp

• 6 x granny smith apples
• 1 x 397g tin caramel sauce (or make your own)
• 1-2 tablespoons full fat milk (only needed to loosen the caramel if you use the tinned version)
• 100g plain flour
• 65g oats
• 160g light brown sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon (I add 1tsp but I like it strong!) 
• 1/2tsp vanilla bean paste
• 110g cold butter

Instructions

1. Heat the oven to 160c. Grease a 8inch ovenproof dish. Peel and chops your apples into thick slices or bitesize pieces (I find the smaller pieces better for little mouths). I sprinkle a little cinnamon over the apples at this point but this is optional.
2. In a saucepan/microwave, melt the tinned caramel until it is gooey and add 1 tablespoon of milk to loosen it up a bit if needed. You can also make your own caramel using your favourite recipe in which case you don't need to add the milk. Pour the caramel over the apples in the dish.
3. In a bowl, mix together the flour, oats, brown sugar, salt, vanilla and cinnamon. Using a  fork, cut in the butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. You can also do this using a blender on the pulse function.
4. Sprinkle the crumbly mixture over the apples. Bake in the preheated oven until golden brown, approx 45 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes.
5. Serve with ice cream, if desired.

Bubbly and crunchy served straight from the oven