Apple Lover’s Apple Crumble

A rustic apple crumble has always been my favorite way to highlight apples: It lets their bright, tart character shine. But even recipes that promise to put the apples first inevitably have you bury the fruit in sugar and then double down on that sweetness by blanketing it with a thick layer of streusel. By the time you add a scoop of ice cream, the whole ensemble tastes sweet from top to bottom and totally misses the point—it’s like heating really good olive oil so that it loses its grassy bite or cooking a thick, well-marbled steak until the center goes gray.

Don’t get me wrong: I love everything about apple crumble—the pragmatism of using up the fruit, the throw-together ease, and the satisfying contrast of tangy, tender fruit against a buttery, delicately crunchy topping. And I’m not antisugar; the fruit’s acid needs a healthy dose of the sweet stuff to make