073 / 75 · Crisp, Tangy and Warm Sides
Oven-Baked Apples with Oat Crumble
8 baked apple halves;4 warm fruit-side or dessert portions of 2 halves each · Active 20 min · Total 1 hr 10 min
Print recipe · PDFApple halves hold a small oat crumble in their cored centers. A little water in the baking dish helps the fruit soften during a covered first stage; an uncovered finish colors the topping. These are warm fruit companions or a modest dessert, clearly counted that way rather than presented as a main-dish hotdish.
Choose apples that can keep a half shape
Firm eating or baking apples with sound skin are useful here. Very soft bruised fruit may collapse before the topping colors. Wash, halve through the stem and remove the core with a small spoon or melon baller, making a shallow pocket rather than hollowing away most of the flesh. Trim a tiny slice from a rounded underside only if needed for stability. The prepared weight is taken after coring, and the halves should sit comfortably in the specified dish without stacking.
Crumble is a measured small topping
Rub cold butter into flour, sugar and cinnamon, then stir through plain rolled oats. The mixture should look like loose damp crumbs rather than a smooth dough. Divide between eight shallow apple pockets without pressing a thick mound across every surface. There is enough to give texture, not to turn the fruit into a large individual pie. The base contains no nuts, cream, ice cream or syrup drizzle. Any of those additions would be a separately chosen accompaniment with its own labels.
Steam first, then color
Pour the small water measure around the apples rather than over the crumble. Cover for the first part of baking so the flesh has time to soften, then uncover and let the oats toast. Test a thick part of the apple with a knife; the fruit should be tender while still recognizable as a half. A crisp topping does not prove that a very firm apple center is ready. Rest before serving because the small pocket of juice can remain hotter than the surface suggests. Give each person two halves with a little of the pan juice.
Ingredients
- 4 small firm apples, washed, halved and cored (about 1 lb 5 oz/600 g prepared,8 halves)
- 1/2 cup plain rolled oats (40 g)
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour (30 g)
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar (25 g)
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon (1 g)
- 2 tablespoons cold butter, diced (30 g)
- 6 tablespoons drinking water (90 ml), for the dish
Set out
Oven, 9×13 in (23×33 cm) baking dish, Small spoon or melon baller, Knife and board, Mixing bowl, Suitable oven lid or foil, Rimmed sheet, Food thermometer for reheating leftovers
Allergens
Milk, Wheat, Oats: check for gluten cross-contact. Check labels and substitutions.
Make it
- Heat oven to 375°F (190°C). Put the baking dish on the rimmed sheet. Halve and core apples, making shallow pockets; arrange 8 halves cut-side up in the dish without stacking.
- Rub flour, brown sugar, cinnamon and cold butter together in the bowl until crumbly. Stir in oats and divide topping between all 8 apple pockets without packing hard.
- Pour 90 ml water around, not over, the apples. Cover and bake 20 minutes. Uncover and bake 15–25 minutes more until a knife enters the thick apple flesh easily and the crumble is golden with no raw flour pockets. Allow extra time for very firm apples, shielding topping if needed.
- Rest 5 minutes. Serve 2 halves per person as a warm fruit side or dessert, spooning a little pan juice beside them.
Leave a recognizable apple
The pocket only needs room for a spoonful of crumbs. Removing a large amount of flesh changes both the portion and the fruit’s support during baking.
A useful detail
The 70-minute allowance includes coring, crumble preparation, up to 45 minutes baking and a short rest. Apple variety and size can extend the tenderness stage. The title describes a fruit side or dessert, not one of the sixty main-dish bakes.
Another way
- Use 4 small firm pears at about 600 g prepared weight, halved and cored. Check tenderness earlier and support the halves securely; softer pears may need a shorter covered stage.
Keep it well
Refrigerate shallow portions within 2 hours, or 1 hour above 90°F (32°C), at 40°F (4°C) or below. Use within 3 days. Reheat to 165°F (74°C). Refrigeration is preferred for the half-apple shape; freezing and thawing soften both fruit and crumble.