struesel weather

A gentle batting down of the hatches this weekend as we got the tail end of the freezing snow that's been causing havoc in the rest of Europe. As airports closed, I baked. 

  

A punnet of cranberries left over from Christmas and lots of windfall Bramley apples stored from the garden, were perfect for making a streusel crumble.

Comfort food doesn't need to be unhealthy but I'm struggling to find sugar free recipes, apart from those that just substitute with commercial sweetener.  They seem to be few and far between. So my crusade to create or adapt existing recipes continues. 

If you have any to share with me I would be eternally grateful.

To make my Bramley Apple and Cranberry Streusel you will need:

Filling:

• 11b of baking apples peeled, quartered, cored and then sliced 
• A punnet of cranberries
• Honey or agarve syrup to sweeten
• You may like to add some spices too

Streusel Topping:

• 75g/3oz butter or dairy free alternative
• 75g/3oz SR flour (This recipe works with spelt or gluten free flour too)
• 40g/1 1/2 oz ground almonds
• 1/2 a  tsp of ground cinnamon.  I also like to add a grating of nutmeg and the seeds from one cardomon pod as it's  so aromatic.
• A handful of nuts, roughly chopped. I like a mixture of hazelnuts, walnuts and cashews
• A dessertspoon of honey. This was sweet enough for us but you may want to add more

Method:

1. Simply place all the fruit in a saucepan with the honey and cook until the fruit is softened. Then place in an buttered ovenproof dish.
2. Melt the butter in a saucepan.
3. Meanwhile sieve the flour and spices into a bowl and add the chopped nuts. 
4. Pour the melted butter over the dry ingredients, add the honey and combine until it comes together as in the image above.
5. Some recipes suggest that you chill the dough at this stage and then grate over the the fruit. I just like to take pieces of the dough and place them on top until all the fruit is covered to give a nice nobbly texture.
6. Bake in a preheated oven 200c/400f/6 for about 25 to 30 minutes until the topping is lovely and golden brown and crunchy.

The apple/cranberry mix is lovely and sweet but a little tart...which I love. The texture works well with the crunchy,nutty topping and a good drizzle of creamy custard makes it perfect to warm the cockles of your heart...

...let it snow, let it snow, let it snow...