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I made apple crumble in small ramekins earlier today. I tasted one and the crumble felt a bit dry and not sweet enough, so I added white sugar on top and put it in the oven on broil, hoping to melt the sugar and make it better.

Naturally, I made the mistake of forgetting how fast and hot of a setting broil really is...

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How can I salvage these apple crumbles? (remove the burned appearance and taste)

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    Oh dear... I would scrape off the burned bits, or slice across with a sharp knife. To repair the look (and add a few cals), I'd either drizzle on a simple glaze of icing sugar mixed with milk, or garnish with whipped or clotted cream, or a dollop of vanilla ice cream.
    – Giorgio
    Sep 12, 2016 at 3:11
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    @Dorothy why not make that an answer?
    – Catija
    Sep 12, 2016 at 5:42

2 Answers 2

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That is such a shame, they looked wonderful.

You may well be able to save the not-so-burnt ones. But you'll have to check the burnt taste hasn't tainted the apple base.

I'd start by carefully removing the burnt bits, (as Dorothy suggested above) and inspecting / tasting the base.

To repair the crumble topping. Mix up a new batch and bake it on it's own. Then when it has cooled enough to handle brake it up and re-top the crumbles.

Rather than grilling/broiling you can get a small blow torch like the ones plumbers use. They are great for this and Creme Brulee. You have much more control.

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If you add a mixture of equal parts melted butter and honey or maple syrup, the sweetness and richness will counteract the bitterness to create what might become your signature Blackened Apple Crumble.

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  • I had heard of using whipped cream or ice cream to fix scorched desserts, presumably for the same reason - richness and sweetness may counteract the bitterness from being burned (potentially leaving complex added flavors behind, which can be good or bad) and also balancing the moisture lost from over-baking.
    – Megha
    Sep 14, 2016 at 0:33

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