Apple Crumble doesn't turn out okay and takes forever

Question

I used a simple Apple Crumble recipe: equal parts by weight flour and butter, and half part sugar. It takes forever to bake in my electric oven at 180C. I made a very small batch today (25g butter and on) in 4" round pan (non stick pan which can be base separated, though I used butter paper). It took more than an hour and a half for the top to begin to brown (and the edges began to blacken), and when I took it out the apples in the base were either burnt or completely dried. Last time I made a bigger batch and it also took forever to cook, and then it burnt from the top when I increased the temperature to 200C to speed things up (I don't remember exactly but I think the apples were fine then) and I had used a steel pan. So my question is, what is contributing to my apple crumble disasters? Are pans no good and I should be using ramekins or glass dishes? Is slicing the apples not the best way to do it? Am I supposed to use butter paper or not? And what is the best temperature to bake it on? Why is it taking forever, especially in a smaller pan? Thank you!!

Answer 1

It took more than an hour and a half for the top to begin to brown

I take away that this is what you are looking for as a sign of done-ness, but when you get it the rest of the thing is overcooked.

You can get the top to brown faster either by adding some extra sugar to the top (sprinkle it on) or toasting it under the broiler for a minute or two once the rest has baked.

It is also possible your oven is miscalibrated. Maybe it is cooler than you think. Bake an oven thermometer and see if it agrees with the temperature you think your oven is set at.