That's The Way The Apple Crumbles

Here is a thing I like: apple crumble. Here is another thing I like: Häagen-Dazs dulce de leche ice cream. It stands to reason, therefore, that apple crumble would be good with Häagen-Dazs dulce de leche ice cream, right?  I mean, that’s usually the way it goes. You like wine and you like cheese, and hey, look at that, wine and cheese are a perfect match! You like Emily Blunt and you like John Krasinski, and sweet jimminy crickets if the universe didn’t invent the world’s cutest couple when it put them together like that. 

Things that are good independently are often good combined, is what I’m trying to say. And this is why I decided to invent a dessert that combines apple crumble with dulce de leche ice cream. Yes, invent. Impressive, right? Are you impressed? You’re impressed, I know it. I’m an inventor. An inventor of desserts. Hold on just one second while I add that to my Linked In profile. 

How do you invent a dessert that combines apple crumble with dulce de leche ice cream, you ask? Well, in my case you are tasked with it by Häagen-Dazs, who are all “hey, we hear you like ice cream. No, of course we’re not saying you’re fat! No, you look fine, honestly! Well, sure, no-one stays at their wedding weight for long anyway and it has been almost two years since you got marri---wait, THIS IS NOT WHAT WE WERE TALKING ABOUT.”

Then they challenged me to invent an original recipe using Häagen-Dazs ice cream. And I accepted. 

So apples: good. Ice cream: good. Dulce de leche: good. Individual Dulce de Leche Apple Crumble Sundaes? There is no way that could be bad. In fact, you know how you like dipping apple slices in caramel? This is like that, but colder, with a craggy, crumbly topping, and also three thousand times better. And three thousand times the butter. Okay, not three thousand times the butter. But close. 

Individual Dulce de Leche Apple Crumble Sundaes 

(Serves six, very generously. By which I mean you could probably squeeze eight out of it if you have the kind of friends who decline a second serving. Who ARE those people?)

For the apple filling:

6 tart green apples, peeled, cored, and sliced into ¼ inch thick pieces
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon corn starch

For the crumble:

1 cup all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 stick unsalted butter, cold and diced into cubes
4 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons sugar

For filling your tummy with extra deliciousness:

1 pint Häagen-Dazs dulce de leche ice cream  

Preheat the oven to 375F. 

Place cut apples into a large oven-safe dish, and toss with the butter, sugar, and corn starch. 

In a separate oven-safe dish, place the flour and baking soda, and add in the cold, diced butter. Rub it together with your fingers until it’s crumbly-looking and resembles oatmeal. 

Stir in the brown and white sugars with a fork. 

Bake both dishes side by side for 35-45 minutes, checking frequently. Don’t let the crumbly topping burn. Take dishes out when done, and let cool for 15 minutes; at the same time, take your Häagen-Dazs dulce de leche ice cream out of the freezer to soften. 

When apples and crumbly topping are just warm to the touch, assemble your individual crumbles. In the bottom of a glass dish or ramekin—I used glass sundae dishes because I like the way you can see the layers---scoop a few inches of dulce de leche ice cream, smoothing flat with a spoon. Add one-sixth of your apple mix on top of the ice cream, then top the apples with one-third of your crumbly topping. Repeat for the rest of the crumbles.

Serve immediately. I mean, really—like you could even wait.

As I mentioned above, this post was sponsored by BlogHer and Häagen-Dazs. Other things in my life that have been sponsored by Häagen-Dazs include bad breakups, nights I was in a funk and just wanted to sit in front of the TV with the tub and a spoon and some bad reality programming, and the entire first year I lived in America and discovered all those new flavors. Okay, none of those are REALLY true. But it sure feels like it.