Apple Betty
My book club last night was Mad Men-themed, with one member rocking a clingy woolen turquoise dress that would have made Joan Holloway proud. What’s for dessert when you’re feasting on steak and martinis? Why, apple betty, of course, inspired by the evilest wackadoo of all.
The question came up: what makes a betty different from a buckle or a crumble? I have now had the opportunity to consult the Epicurious food dictionary and can shed light for inquiring minds. Dating back to Colonial times, a betty (or brown betty) consists of sugared, buttered breadcrumbs mixed and layered with chopped fruit (usually apples) that has been tossed with lemon juice and flour. The lack of eggs and milk makes it an entity separate from a bread pudding, in case you’re wondering. End history lesson.
I was one martini in when it came to dessert (can’t say enough good things about Farmer’s Gin) so I cannot, unfortunately, give an in-depth account of this betty’s virtues. I can vouch for her wholesome, warm simplicity, and a sweet, homespun fragrance irresistible to men on public transportation. I can also say having learned my lesson the hard way: gin martinis––insanely delicious, but watch out.
I haven’t seen the season finale yet, so pretty please: no spoilers in the comments!
Apple Betty
from Everyday Food
Serves 6-8
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 large loaf French baguette, cut or torn into bite-sized pieces
3/4 cup sugar
3 tablespoons apple juice
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 pounds Gala or Empire apples (about 6), peeled, cored, and cut into small pieces
3 tablespoons dark rum
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons all-purpose flour
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Butter an 8-inch square baking dish.* On a rimmed baking sheet, arrange bread in a single layer and bake until dry, about 12 minutes. Transfer half the bread to a food processor and pulse until fine crumbs form. In a medium saucepan, combine butter, 1/4 cup sugar, apple juice, and salt. Cook over medium heat until sugar dissolves, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in bread pieces and crumbs; let stand 10 minutes.
In a medium bowl, toss apples with 1/2 cup sugar, rum, lemon juice, and flour. Transfer to dish; top with bread mixture. Cover with foil and bake until apples are tender, 40-45 minutes. Uncover and bake until top is golden, about 15 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes before serving with creme fraîche or heavy cream.
*I found that an 8-inch dish wasn’t quite big enough, but a 9″x12″ baker was too big. Try a 10-inch pie plate.
Laura: A crumble or at least an English crumble, doesn’t use breadcrumbs. The crumble bit is made with flour, sugar and butter and sometimes oats or nuts etc.
I have never heard of a Betty before but it looks yummy!1 year ago
Katie @ cakes, tea and dreams: Yum! I just made an apple crumble last night – but this looks like a delicious variation.
1 year ago
Alicia Kachmar: Yum! I went apple picking yesterday and am amassing recipes!1 year ago
Lisa (dinner party): Looks delicious. I love that you added rum.1 year ago
Rebecca: Yum! I love these crumbles, so I’m sure I’d love betties, too. PS What book did you all read?1 year ago
Pooja: So funny that I read this today – I had apple betty for the first time last week (vegan of course). So delicious!1 year ago
Rebecca, The book itself wasn’t Mad Men-ish (we already covered that with the oh-so wonderul The Best of Everything); we read A Wrinkle in Time.1 year ago
Anne: My mom always made crumbles and we ate them warm with vanilla ice cream. I was lazy yesterday and just made caramelized pears. There’s no crumble/betty/crisp involved, but let me tell you — it was good.1 year ago
Sara Rose: I need to catch up on my Mad Men watching. CAN YOU BELIEVE NOLAN DOESN’T LIKE IT? It pains me to say that. I’m sloooooooooooowly coming around to baked apple things so this is def worth a try imho. A Wrinkle In Time? I may have to reread that now!1 year ago
heather: we grew up having apple crisp in the winter, with buttery, brown sugary rolled oats in the crispy topping. SO GOOD!
it’s important to remember the martini/boobs rule, in that: martinis are like boobs…one’s not enough, and three is too many.1 year ago
Heather, That is a rule I will now never forget.
Hilarious!1 year ago
Fort Lauderdale Divorce Lawyer: While I am not the biggest gin fan (my mom loves the stuff) I could definitely go for this recipe. It sounds like it would be very good with this my brother and his girlfriends dad made up. It’s got Tillemoredo and Irish mist and it’s creamy and delicious and would go great with an apple crumble type thing. something to think about.1 year ago
Gina @cakeandcordial: I am just finishing up the 1st season of Mad Men now! I’ve got to say its probably the first show I’ve really liked in which I DON’T like any of the characters… Maybe I’ve just got to learn more about them.
Something similar to this dessert that I grew up with was an apple crisp – except my French Canadian great-grandmother had trouble pronouncing that, so our family still calls it an apple crips.1 year ago