Apple Cherry Crisp
Last month, my family celebrated our sixth annual Fall Fun Day! Since it was our first year at the Fricke Farmhouse, our itinerary looked a little different than previous years. After a delicious breakfast of Belgian pumpkin waffles, we made our first top at Tom Dooley Apple Orchard. Although we couldn’t pick our own, I got a big bag of Jonagold apples. They were so sweet and flavorful and worked wonderfully to make this Apple Cherry Crisp.
Added Sugar in Fruit Crisps
My favorite part about making fruit desserts is that they can be so flavorful and sweet while hardly adding any extra sugar. For this Apple Cherry Crisp, I made sure to use a sweeter variety of apples (Jonagold) to counteract the tartness of the cherries. With this combination, I only needed a third cup of pure maple syrup to sweeten the filling. (But you could certainly use less if you prefer!)
For the topping, I chose sucanat and again, only needed a third cup. Sucanat is a type of unrefined cane sugar that still has the naturally occurring molasses. The brand I use is Wholesome Sweets which is organic, non-GMO and fair trade certified. If you can’t find sucanat in the store, you can purchase it online from Thrive Market. The other option is to use regular brown sugar, but do keep it mind that it is a heavily processed, refined product.
How to Make the Filling for Apple Cherry Crisp
Apple Cherry Crisp filling is incredibly easy to make. Start by peeling, coring, and dicing the apples. If the cherries still have pits, remove them too. Since I don’t have a cherry pitter, I use a small piping tip to pop the pits out.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and have an 8×8 baking dish ready, Mix the apples and cherries in a large bowl and toss them with the maple syrup, whole wheat pastry flour , The Spice House cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves.Then transfer the mixture to the baking dish and spread it out evenly.
How to Make Apple Cherry Crisp Topping
In a medium bowl, whisk the oats, flour, sucanat, cinnamon, sea salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Then add the melted butter and stir until the dry ingredients are all covered. To make this recipe vegan, use melted coconut oil in place of butter.
Sprinkle the oat crumble evenly over the fruit filling at bake at 350 degrees for 45-55 minutes. When the crisp is done, the apples will be easily pierced with a fork, the top will be golden brown, and the filling will be bubbly. Let the Apple Cherry Crisp cool for at least 10 minutes before serving.
Homemade Whipped Cream
While the Apple Cherry Crisp cools, make the whipped cream. Start by chilling the bowl and beaters. This can be done ahead of time in the refrigerator or within five to ten minutes in the freezer. I use the bowl of my stand mixer and the whisk attachment, but a hand mixer will work too.
When the bowl is ready, add a cup of whipping cream and beat on high speed until it starts to stiffen. Then add two tablespoons of pure maple syrup and one teaspoon of pure vanilla or cinnamon extract. Continue beating the cream until it is light, fluffy, and holds it’s shape.
As always, I must emphasize the importance of using pure cream. Whipping cream should not have any added ingredients like polysorbate 80, carrageenan, or mono and diglycerides. Just pure cream. You’d be surprised at what you find when you read the labels! Do yourself a favor and make yourself more aware of how you fuel your body.
I hope you enjoy this Apple Cherry Crisp! Let me know what you think in the comments below. If you give it a try, take some photos and tag @roots_and_rosemary on Instagram!
