Learn how to make Chef John's "Grate" Apple Crisp, a delicious twist on a classic dessert! In this video, Chef John shows you how to create a perfectly spiced apple filling topped with a unique crispy, buttery oat topping. The secret ingredient? Freshly grated apples that bring extra flavor and texture to every bite. This comforting fall dessert is simple to make and perfect for any occasion.
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00:00Hello, this is Chef John from FoodWishes.com, with Great Apple Crisp!
00:08That's right, according to a recent made-up study, the main reason people listed for not
00:12making an apple crisp, was the peel and corn and slice and prep on the apples.
00:17Well, thanks to this new great technique, that is no longer a valid excuse.
00:23So with that, let's go ahead and get started with my double entendre, since this great
00:27technique involves grating the apples instead of peeling and slicing them, which is not
00:32only faster, but definitely better for people that don't have great knife skills.
00:37And what we'll do is grate six apples into a bowl, and I'm using Honeycrisp, but please
00:42feel free to use whatever you want.
00:44I mean, you are after all the Johnny Appleseed, of which apple to use for this deed.
00:49And the only thing to look out for here, is to not grate in too far.
00:53And a great tip for how to tell if you've gone too far, is you're going to see seeds
00:57in the bowl, which we don't want, so don't go that far.
01:01And then once we have our apples grated, we'll squeeze in the juice of one lemon, and I guess
01:05you could add the zest if you wanted, but for me that might give it a little too pronounced
01:09of a lemon flavor.
01:11And here we're going for mostly the acidity, with just a little hint of lemon flavor.
01:15And once that's in, we'll add a little touch of cinnamon, plus a very small touch of corn
01:20starch, just to help tighten up those juices a little bit.
01:24And that's it, we'll finish this up with some white sugar, as well as some light brown sugar,
01:29at which point we'll take a spoon and give this a thorough mixing.
01:33And by the way, if all you have is dark brown sugar, you can use that.
01:37For recipes like this, light brown and regular dark brown sugar are pretty much interchangeable,
01:42and the only difference is that the dark has more of a molasses flavor.
01:45But anyway, the point is, they both will work.
01:48And no matter what you use, make sure everything is mixed in very evenly.
01:52Once it is, we will stop, and transfer this into a buttered baking dish.
01:57As in a very, very generously buttered baking dish, like a couple tablespoons.
02:02And you can and probably should do this ahead of time.
02:04Alright, I decided to start the video by showing you the apple prep, since that is slightly
02:09more exciting than watching someone butter a dish to open a video.
02:12But it's generally a good idea to have that stuff prepped before you start a recipe.
02:17In any event, once that's greased, we'll go ahead and transfer our apple mixture in, and
02:21we will distribute and spread that out as evenly as we can.
02:25And by the way, raise your hand if you needed that instruction, and you were actually going
02:28to pile it all up on one side.
02:31I know you weren't, but that's just something people like me say.
02:35And then once that's been accomplished, we can move on to our topping, which starts with
02:39one ingredient that goes in just about everybody's recipe for apple crisp, which would be some
02:44rolled oats, followed by an ingredient that's in almost nobody's recipe, and that would
02:49be some grape nuts.
02:50Oh yeah, the cereal.
02:53And while it is true no one really knows what grape nuts are, we all know what they aren't,
02:58which would be nuts from grapes.
03:00But whatever they are, they work great in toppings like this.
03:04And then to that we will add some all-purpose flour, as well as some white and brown sugar,
03:09followed by a small, but very important pinch of salt.
03:12Oh yeah, don't forget the salt, which I think I did in the apple crisp video I posted over
03:17a decade ago.
03:19And that's it.
03:20We'll finish up with an entire stick of melted butter.
03:23And once that's in, we'll take a spoon and give this a thorough mix.
03:27And I really do want you to take your time here, OK, not just because stirring things
03:31are relaxing and therapeutic, but also we want to make sure every rolled oat and every
03:36single grape nut is coated evenly with the butter.
03:39So take your time and do a very thorough and thoughtful job.
03:44And that's it.
03:45Once properly mixed, we'll spoon that over the top, and we'll distribute that as evenly
03:49as we can.
03:50I know you wanted to pile it all up in one spot, but don't.
03:55And then after I had that spread over, I did something I don't want you to do.
03:59I went around with the tip of my spoon, and I poked some of that down into that juicy
04:02apple mixture, which at the time seemed like a smart thing to do.
04:07But as it turns out, I think we want to leave everything right on top, so it comes out a
04:10little crispier for you.
04:12All right, using grated apples instead of sliced apples for this was a new thing for
04:17me.
04:18So I was learning on the fly.
04:20But anyway, once that's topped, it's ready to transfer into the center of a 375 degree
04:25oven for about an hour, or until our apple filling is firmed up and the top is golden
04:31brown and crisp.
04:33And it hopefully looks like this.
04:35And then if you want, you can serve this up piping hot, but personally, I do think it's
04:40better taste and texture wise if you let it cool down.
04:44So I did let mine sit there for a while before I served some up, and at this point it was
04:48just barely, barely warm.
04:50Just barely warm enough to slightly melt the next ingredient, which of course would be
04:54a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
04:57And no, not a big scoop.
04:58A nice small restaurant scoop.
05:01I know, you're going to put more on at home.
05:03That's fine.
05:04And that's it.
05:05I finished up with a completely unnecessary sprig of mint, although to be fair, that might
05:10be the best looking sprig of mint in the history of YouTube videos.
05:13And if it isn't, I'd love to see the one that is.
05:16But anyway, I grabbed a spoon and went in for the official taste, and I could not have
05:21been happier with how this came out.
05:22Right, I love the flavor of a classic apple crisp, but what I don't always love is the
05:27texture of those larger slices of apples you get under the crisp.
05:31Which is why I was really excited to try this grating technique, and it really did work
05:35out amazingly well.
05:37OK, those little shreds of apple still have a little bit of texture to them, but the overall
05:42mouthfeel is much more luxurious.
05:45And we're almost getting like apple butter vibes from this.
05:48Which if you're not familiar, is when we cook down apples for a really, really long time
05:52with lots of sugar and some butter, and it turns into this rich brown sweet and tangy
05:56paste that's one of the most delicious things you'll ever eat.
06:00Well that's kind of what we have going on here, except it's topped with all this crumbly
06:04crispy goodness.
06:06Which reminds me, my only dilemma here is that the topping is definitely crispier when
06:11it's freshly baked, so I probably enjoy that part of this better when it's warm.
06:15But as far as the apple component underneath, I definitely enjoy that part more when it's
06:19cold.
06:20Right, once it's cold it's very jam-like, which is why I compared it to apple butter
06:24earlier, and I just enjoy the balance of the flavors a little more when this is chilled.
06:30But anyway, suit yourself, and no matter what temperature you enjoy this at, I really do
06:35think this technique is great, pun intended, and I really, really do hope you give this
06:41a try soon.
06:42So please follow the links below for the ingredient amounts, a printable written recipe, and much
06:47more info, as usual, and as always, enjoy!