Description
Enjoy an individual serving of apple crumble! Recipe makes six 6-ounce ramekins. Review recipe notes before starting.
Ingredients
Apple Layer
- 1 Tablespoon (14g) unsalted butter, melted
- 3 large apples, cut into 1-inch chunks that are 1/4 – 1/2 inch thick (about 4 cups or 480g chunks)
- 3 Tablespoons (38g) packed light or dark brown sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Topping
- 2/3 cup (135g) packed light or dark brown sugar
- 1 cup (125g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- small pinch salt (about 1/16 teaspoon)
- 6 Tablespoons (85g) unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
- optional for serving: ice cream & salted caramel
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Line six 6-ounce ramekins on a baking sheet.
- Prepare the apple layer: First, brush the 1 Tablespoon of melted butter into ramekins to grease them. In a large bowl, stir the apples, brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg together. Divide apples between ramekins.
- Make the crumb topping: Use a fork to mix this crumb topping. Mix the brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, and salt together in a medium bowl. Fold in the melted butter. Keep the mixture as large crumbles and do not over-mix. (If over-mixed, this will turn into a thick paste.) Sprinkle evenly over apples, pressing down into the apples if necessary so it fits. (It’s fine if crumble topping is still piled high on the apples because it bakes down.)
- Bake for 32-36 minutes or until topping is lightly toasted and apples appear softened.
- Remove from the oven and serve warm. If desired, serve with ice cream and salted caramel on top.
- Cover and store leftover crumbles in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. Reheat in the microwave or oven if desired before enjoying. (See next for reheating in oven instructions.)
Notes
- Make Ahead Instructions: The best way to prepare these apple crumbles ahead of time is to prepare them through step 3. Cover and refrigerate unbaked crumbles for up to 1 day. Bring to room temperature, then continue with step 4. You can also bake 1-2 days in advance, store covered in the refrigerator, then reheat (covered) in a 300°F (149°C) oven for 15 minutes before serving. Baked & cooled crumbles freeze well up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and reheat as desired.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): 6-ounce Oven-Safe Ramekins | Baking Sheet | Pastry Brush | Glass Mixing Bowls | Apple Peeler
- Greasing the Ramekins: If you don’t have a pastry brush, you can use a spoon or your fingers to spread the melted butter into the ramekins or just use nonstick spray to grease instead.
- Apples: You need 3 large apples for this recipe. Firmer apples are ideal for baking, so avoid soft, mealy, and/or mushy apples. Here are my top choices and what I recommend for these apple crumbles: Granny Smith, Jazz, Honeycrisp, Pink Lady, and Fuji. You can skip peeling the apples if you’d like, but many prefer peeled apples in desserts. I use and love (affiliate link) this OXO peeler.
- Ramekin Size & Bake Time: You need oven-safe 6-ounce ramekins to make this recipe. I use these (affiliate link) 6 ounce oven-safe ramekins. If your oven-safe ramekins are smaller than 6 ounces, the bake time should be reduced. If your oven-safe ramekins are larger than 6 ounces, they’ll need additional bake time. When the topping looks toasted, they’re done.
- 1 Large Apple Crumble: If you do not have individual oven-safe ramekins, you can make 1 large apple crumble using this apple crumble pie recipe and baking in a greased 9-inch pie dish or 9-inch square baking pan. Simply skip the pie crust and feel free to skip the nuts, too. Same bake time as the pie. This individual crumbles recipe uses *slightly* more crumble topping and you can use this amount if desired.