Episode: Operation: P.I.N.K.E.Y.E

Nurse Claiborne’s Apple Crumble

We all knew that adults were conspiring against us kids, but we had no concrete evidence. That’s where Codename: Kids Next Door came in. This show exposed all of the adults’ secrets, so we could plan our counterattack. But we weren’t prepared to discover just how far their lies went and saw things that can never be unseen. Things that were so jarring, that they’ll haunt me for the rest of my life. I was a witness to Operation: P.I.N.K.E.Y.E.

Seriously, watching Nurse Claiborne harvest eye crust for her apple crumble was super gross. Numbah 2 took it a lot better than I did, especially when he’d been munching on crumbles all day. Oh yeah, and did I mention they’re probably filled with boogers!? Despite how icky that episode is, it’s actually one of my favorites. Regardless, now my poor, messed up inner child can have her revenge on adults in the form of tasty, non-eye crusty nor boogery apple crumble!

Recipe makes 16 crumble slices.

 Ingredients

 Cake:

2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon cinnamon

½ teaspoon salt

½ cup butter

1 ¼ cups light brown sugar

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup sour cream

Filling

 1 ½ tablespoons butter

2 cups apples, peeled and chopped

¼ cup brown sugar

½ tablespoon cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 tablespoon cornstarch

Crumble

¾ cup flour

½ cup brown sugar

3 tablespoons turbinado/raw sugar – Optional, but it gives it a nice crunch.

6 tablespoons butter, cold – cut into small chunks

 

Directions

 Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Grease a 9 X 9 baking dish

Filling:

Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the apples, sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Cook the apples for 10 minutes or until soft. (Some varieties take much longer to soften.) Add the lemon juice and cornstarch and cook until the mixture bubbles. Reduce the heat to low and cook an additional minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and set aside.

Cake:

Combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt in a medium bowl. In a stand mixer, cream butter and sugar on medium speed until fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time and beat after each addition. Add the vanilla. Reduce the speed to low and add the dry ingredients and sour cream, alternatingly.

Crumble:

Combine flour, brown sugar, and turbinado sugar in a small bowl. Cut in butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

Putting It All Together:

We’re making layers! Pour enough batter into the baking dish to cover the bottom. Spread half the filling over the batter. Add more batter to cover the filling. Spread the rest of the filling over that batter layer. Pour and spread the remainder of the batter on top. Run a skewer through the cake, just enough to swirl the layers together a little. Smooth out and completely cover with crumble topping. Bake for 35 – 40 minutes, or until golden and set. Remove and cool completely on a wire rack. Cut, serve, and enjoy!

Variations: You can use a 9 X 13 pan for thinner crumbles and you can certainly add more topping.

Take that adult tyranny! We’ve taken back our baked goods. Next we’ll take back the ice cream, and the school lunches, and then the whole world! OK, I know that I’ve technically outgrown the KND, but age is just a number. I’ll keep doing my grownup stuff because I have to, but I’ll always be an honorary member of the Kids Next Door.

 

Tune in next week for more Cartoon Cravings!