Caramel Apple Crumble bars

Autumn has now arrived and, and now while I miss the sunshine, and the lighter nights there is something to be said for this beautiful season. I love seeing the leaves on the trees take on golden hues and the feel of that carpet beneath my boots. The hunkering down, the cosy blankets, rooms lit by soft lights and candles.

I have not long come back from Ontario in Canada and I love the way they decorate their houses for Fall, as they do in America. It is not a custom we follow in the UK but I have decided this year to do so.

I love the produce of this season and I am a firm believer that food tastes so much better when eaten in season. Such as our gorgeous British apples, Normally I use red apples with this recipe such as Royal Gala but this time I used Granny Smiths which are juicy flesh with a sweet sometimes tart subtle flavour. A great apple for pies, cooking or salads.

To me nothing goes better with apples in baking than cinnamon, not too much as then it takes on an almost medicinal flavour. I also added some of my homemade vegan lightly salted caramel to the cooked apple. This made a lovely sauce to blanket the apples in. You can buy a few different vegan caramel sauces but I will put my recipe up later.

The Ingredients

The butter The best butter for this recipe would be a block of butter and not a soft one. The reason for this is that it makes a better crumble and does not mash down.
Sugar If you don’t have soft brown sugar for this you could substitute for white but the results will not be the same.
The flour and oats I used gluten-free plain flour and oats. If you are just vegan and not coeliac or wheat intolerant then just normal flour and oats.
The Caramel As I mentioned there are a few vegan caramels you can purchase. I will add a link to mine when it is up.

Caramel Apple Crumble Bars

Preparation Time 30 Minutes
Baking Time 50 Minutes
Makes 16 Portions

Vegan, vegetarian and gluten-free

Base & Topping

250 g of gluten-free oats
250 g of gluten free plain flour
200 g of soft brown sugar
1/2 tsp of cinnamon
1/2 tsp of baking powder
1/2 tsp of baking powder
225 g of cold butter diced

Filling

8 eating apples of your choice, peeled and thinly sliced
100 g of soft brown sugar
40 g of dairy-free butter
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp of salt
2 tbsp of caramel plus another tablespoon warmed to drizzle over the top.

Instructions

Line a 20 cm x 30 cm deep sided baking pan with baking paper, leaving the paper hanging a little on the sides and preheat the oven to 180 C.
Into a large bowl add the flour, brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, baking powder, salt and butter. Using a pastry cutter or a fork blend to form a crumbly mixture.
Transfer 1 1/2 cups of the mix to another bowl and press the remaining mix into the pan. Place in the oven on the middle shelf and bake for 10 minutes until lightly golden.
APPLE FILLING ln a deep-sided pan add the butter, apples, sugar, cinnamon and lemon juice. Cook on medium heat for 10-15 minutes, until the apples have just started to soften and the it has reduced and become sticky and then stir through the caramel sauce. Tumble this over the base making sure the filling covers the base completely.
Sprinkle the remaining mixture over the filling and bake for 35-40 minutes until golden and bubbling
Leave to completely cool in the baking tin for a couple of hours
Once completely cool lift from the tin using the over hanging paper, place on a chopping board and using a sharp knife divide into 16 pieces and drizzle over some warmed caramel (optional)

Can these be frozen? Yes they can, I wrap them up individually and freeze for up to 3 months. To be honest they never seem to last that long. Eaten as they are or with custard or ice-cream they will be loved.

If you decide to give this recipe a try, please don’t forget to tag me on Twitter as @veganalchemist1 or my Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/thegfveganalchemist I love seeing your versions of the recipes. I would love to hear your comments too. Feedback is so important.

Caramel Apple Crumble bars