Recipe: Maple Apple Crumble

We have an abundance of apples at Frey Vineyards right now, and it’s the time when backyard trees and farmers’ markets all over the country bestow us with tasty heirloom varieties. Coring, slicing, pressing, dehydrating, and canning keeps us busy this time of year … and then there’s always good old-fashioned apple pie! So often we think of wine and food pairing as a savory experience, but wine can be an excellent complement to desserts as well, and even better when it’s incorporated into the recipe. Tamara Frey shares her recipe for Maple Apple Crumble, where apple slices cook down in crisp Viognier.

Maple Apple Crumble

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

FOR TWO PIES:
Line the pie pans with 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, 1 tablespoon per pan. Spread the butter all over the pie pan. I used my washed hands to do this, the best tools for the task.

FOR THE FILLING
Place in a medium to large saucepan:

10 Granny Smith Apples. Any good baking apple can be used. Quarter, core, and slice as thin as possible. I prefer not to peel the apples.
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 ½ teaspoons cinnamon
1 ½ teaspoons cardamom
Zest of one large lemon (Meyer lemon would also do)
2 cups Frey Organic Viognier wine (any nice white wine will do)
1 cup maple syrup
1 tablespoon vanilla

Bring to a boil and simmer for approximately half an hour, until apples have cooked, and the wine maple syrup sauce has reduced and thickened. Meanwhile prep the crumble.

FOR THE CRUMBLE
4 ½ cups thick cut oats (any oats can be used)
½ cup maple syrup
12 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold and chopped.
2 tablespoons vanilla

Place oats in a blender and blend smooth. Add the cold-chopped butter and vanilla and blend.
Add the maple syrup and blend. It will be somewhat sticky and hold together.

ASSEMBLE THE PIES
Place the apple filling in the two pie shells that have been lined with the unsalted butter, half of the filling for each.
Break up the wet crumble generously on top of the apple maple filling, dividing it between the two pies, and bake for approximately 20 minutes at 350 degrees, or until crumble is toasty and golden.

Our Frey Vineyards 2018 Organic Viognier has lovely aromas of gardenia on the nose, unfolding with off-dry notes of pomelo on the sip. This is the perfect match for the heady sweetness of the apple crumble, and it won 95 points in the 2021 New York International Wine Competition. We like balancing out the caramelized flavors with some nibbles of mature-aged cheddar cheese. Enjoy!