L’Enclyclopedie de la Cuisine de Jehane Benoit is an iconic French Canadian cookbook that was first published in 1963. I believe my mom received this cookbook when she got married in 1977 and it became a staple in her kitchen. My partner David also gifted me a re-edition for Christmas in 2004. Although the recipes and ingredients now feel quite dated, I still go back to this cookbook for Jehane Benoit’s Apple Crisp. In my opinion, it is by far the best rendition of this quintessential fall favorite!
INGREDIENTS
4 cups of sliced apples
1/3 cup of sugar
2 tbsp of flour
1/2 tsp of cinnamon
1 tbsp of butter
2 tbsp of lemon juice
FOR THE TOPPING
3/4 cup of brown sugar
3/4 cup of flour
1/3 cup of butter
1 pinch of salt
3/4 cut of chopped walnuts
PREPARATION
Place apples in an 8″ X 8″ baking dish. In a small bowl, mix sugar, flour, cinnamon and butter and spread this mixture on top of apples. Pour lemon juice on top.
Place all topping ingredients in a bowl and mix together using a pastry blender until the mixture has texture of coarse sand. Loosely spread over the apples.
Bake at 325F for one hour.
Serve warm with ice cream or heavy cream.
Effortlessly Chuck 