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Lighter Apple Quark Crumble Cups
Recipe

Lighter Apple Quark Crumble Cups

Dessert • Austria

A practical Austrian-inspired dessert: softly stewed apples topped with a crunchy oat-almond crumble and a light vanilla quark layer. Comforting, not heavy, and easy to portion.

Why smarter

Uses quark instead of cream for a creamy finish, keeps sweetness moderate, and adds oats, nuts, and fruit for more fiber and satisfaction without feeling like “diet food.”

Chef tip

If the apples are very juicy, simmer 1–2 minutes longer uncovered so the filling doesn’t water down the crumble.

Soft line

Cosy, crisp, and creamy in one spoon.

Ingredients

# Ingredient Text Amount Unit Ingredient Name Notes
1 Apples (e.g., Elstar or Braeburn), peeled, cored, diced 600.000 g Apples About 4 medium
2 Lemon juice 15.000 ml Lemon juice About 1 tbsp
3 Ground cinnamon 2.000 g Ground cinnamon About 1 tsp, plus extra to serve (optional)
4 Vanilla sugar 16.000 g Vanilla sugar 2 small sachets (8 g each), divided
5 Water 60.000 ml Water
6 Rolled oats 60.000 g Rolled oats
7 Wholemeal wheat flour 40.000 g Wholemeal wheat flour Or plain flour
8 Ground almonds 40.000 g Ground almonds
9 Canola oil 30.000 ml Canola oil About 2 tbsp
10 Fine salt 1.000 g Salt Pinch
11 Low-fat quark (Topfen) 400.000 g Quark About 20% or lean; Austrian Topfen
12 Low-fat milk 30.000 ml Milk To loosen quark as needed

Method

  1. Heat the oven to 190°C (top/bottom heat). Place 4 small ovenproof dishes or glasses (about 250 ml each) on a tray.
  2. Add diced apples to a small pot with lemon juice, cinnamon, 1 sachet (8 g) vanilla sugar, and water. Simmer 6–8 minutes until tender but not mushy; let cool slightly.
  3. Meanwhile, make the crumble: in a bowl mix oats, flour, ground almonds, remaining 1 sachet (8 g) vanilla sugar, and salt.
  4. Stir in canola oil until the mixture forms small clumps (use fingertips if needed).
  5. Divide the warm apple mixture between the 4 dishes.
  6. Sprinkle the crumble evenly over the apples.
  7. Bake 12–15 minutes, until the top is lightly golden and crisp.
  8. While baking, whisk quark with milk until smooth and spoonable (add a little more milk if needed).
  9. Serve each crumble cup warm with a generous spoon of vanilla quark on top (or on the side). Add an extra pinch of cinnamon if you like.