Anne Diffily <adbam@brownvm.brown.edu>
Apple Brown Betty
This is a delicious warm dessert for cool-weather months ... a family
favorite, and rich enough for company as well.
(This makes enough for four dainty eaters, 2 - 3
hearty eaters. Usually I double it to serve 6 people.)
- 4 cups apples, cored, peeled, and cut into chunks (Macintosh or Macoun are good)
- 2 Tablespoons molasses (I use a bit more!)
- 1/3 cup water
Put above ingredients into a medium sized saucepan, turn heat to high until
water boils, turn down and simmer (keep at a low boil so you see steam
coming out) for 10 minutes. Coat the inside of a deep baking dish or
casserole with butter or margarine. Dump the cooked apples & liquid into
the dish. Preheat oven to 450F.
- 2/3 cup white sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1 cup flour
- One stick of butter (1/4 pound) at room temperature
Put the dry ingredients in a medium sized mixing bowl and stir together.
Put the softened (but not liquid) butter on top of the dry stuff; take two
sharp knives and cut in opposite directions across the butter and dry stuff
until it begins to look crumbly. Put the crumbly mixture on top of the
apples in the casserole.
Bake at 450F for 10 minutes, then turn oven down to 350F and bake another
30 minutes. Serve in bowls, warm (very important!!!) with whipped cream.
The best whipped cream for this is Amaretto Whipped Cream.
Amaretto Whipped Cream
- 1 pint heavy or whipping cream
- 1 Tablespoon confectioner's sugar
- Dash of Amaretto liqueur
Beat with electric mixer in a bowl with steep sides until fluffy; plop a
big spoonful on top of each serving of Apple Brown Betty.
Almost as good as sex. 8-)
Cooking Hint - Whipping Cream
Anyone who tries to whip cream under various conditions knows that a number
of factors influence the results. The quality of cream is important.
Cream that contains from 30 to 35 percent butterfat whips up quickly into a
smooth, stiff mass and will drain out very little milk on standing. The
type of whipper also counts. An egg beater is not nearly so satisfactory
as an electric mixer with blades that revolve close to the bottom of the
bowl. Both the bowl and the beaters need to be chilled in the
refrigerator. A deep bowl with rather straight sides is much better for
whipping than a broad, shallow one. The cream should be whipped rapidly.
In two or three minutes one should be able to whip a half pint perfectly.
Whipping should stop at the right time. When the cream becomes stiff and
is still smooth, it is time to stop. When whipped too long, it is lumpy
and a large amount of milk drains from it. (Besides that, it turns to
butter, as any good Texas girl knows.) If under whipped, the cream drains
out and it has the appearance of unwhipped cream. When properly whipped,
the cream will hold up for several hours if it is stored in refrigerator,
but if it is held too long, it will dry out on the surface and will change
in flavor.
This page is maintained by Graham Toal <gtoal@gtoal.com>