Recipes by Rupa Sethu

Anika’s Apple Crisp with Mascarpone

Three out of four in my family like apple pie/crumble/crisp etc with nice big chunks of apple clearly visible. Today we cater to the fourth – who loves the crisp topping and the juicy apple bottom layer but wants no part of the apple chunks! Anika’s Apple Crisp with mascarpone is a speedy apple crisp that delivers on taste with no chunky apples in sight! Bonus: 0mg sodium (in the apple crisp, the marcarpone has 5 mg per tbsp) AND gluten free too!

A dessert plate with apple crisp and a dollop of mascarpone cheese

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 cups rolled oats
  • 3/4 cup brown sugar (light or dark)
  • 1/2 cup all purpose flour (I used a gluten free flour)
  • 2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 stick unsalted butter, melted
  • 1 apple, peeled, cored and grated (any kind, I’m not picky!)
  • 4 tbsp sugar
  • 1/4 tsp fresh grated nutmeg
  • 1 cup unsweetened applesauce
  • Mascarpone cheese, to top the crisp while serving

Method

  • Preheat oven to 400F.
  • In a medium sized mixing bowl, combine the oats, the brown sugar, the flour, and 1.5 tsp cinnamon. Pour the melted butter over the dry ingredients and toss to evenly coat and form large grainy crumbs. You may need to get in there with your hands to make sure the mixture is all combined well. Set aside.
  • Separately, in another bowl, mix together the grated apple, the remaining 1/2 tsp cinnamon, the nutmeg, the sugar, and the apple sauce.
  • I used a small oven safe dish (about 8″ X 6″). First add the apple mixture to the dish. Top with the crumbs to completely cover the apples, in a thick layer. The ratio of the apple layer to the crumbs layer is pretty much 1:1.
  • Bake for about 20 minutes at 400F. Then check the topping. Take the apple crisp out of the oven when the topping is a nice brown but not burnt and the kitchen smells divine. That’s your cue! Let it sit for at least 30 minutes so it cools down a little (the crumbles get a bit crunchier as it cools.)

To serve it up, place a generous portion on a dessert plate when still warm. Add a dollop of the mascarpone on top and dig in. Since the mascarpone is unsweetened, it provides the perfect counterfoil to the sweet apple crisp. Anika’s Apple Crisp with Mascarpone is a hit!