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.) 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. 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

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.


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