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| Traditional danish dessert (dansk æblekage) with layers of apple and butter-browned bread crumbs and whipped cream (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
The bread crumbs in this dish absorb the butter and apple juices and begin to caramelize, giving the brown betty its marvelous texture. Choose a simple coarse bread with a firm texture; rustic Italian or French bread and sweet baguettes are good choices. Avoid eggs that are rich in eggs or milk, as they will make the dessert mushy. To make bread crumbs, remove the crusts from the slices of slightly stale bread (let the bread sit out overnight, or dry the slices in a low oven), chop coarsely, and use a food processor to reduce the pieces to coarse crumbs.
By simply following the correct way of making bread crumbs, you can make your Apple Brown Betty an outstanding dessert for your family. Try it now!
You will need:
3 cups (6 oz/185 g) coarse fresh bread crumbs
1/2 cup (4 oz/125 g) granulated sugar
1/2 cup (3 1/2 oz/105 g) firmly packed light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
6 firm, tart apples, peeled, halved, cored, and sliced very thin (about 6 cups/ 1 1/2 lb/750 g)
1/2 cup (4 oz/125 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature, cut into small pieces,
plus extra for greasing
Heavy (double) cream, at room temperature, for serving
Here's how:
Place an oven rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat to 375 degrees F. Lightly grease a 2-qt (2-1) souffle dish.
Spread the bread crumbs on a baking sheet and toast in the oven until lightly golden, about 10 minutes. Let cool.
In a large bowl, stir together the granulated sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and the toasted bread crumbs. Add the apple slices and toss until the apples are well coated with the bread crumb mixture. Place one-third of the mixture in the prepared baking dish and dot with the one-third of the butter. Repeat twice, finishing with the butter.
Bake until the apples are tender when pierced with a skewer or small knife and the bread crumbs are golden brown, 1-1 1/4 hours. Serve warm with a drizzle of cream.
Note: A betty is an old-fashioned dessert that has been traced back to Colonial times in the United States and may be English in origin.
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