vegan crumb topping for apple crisp

[tall sarah]

I'm to make a dessert for about 20 people on Sunday & have decided on apple crisp. Since the guest of honor is vegan, I need help with the topping, as I usually use butter.

In my quick search, I was unable to find any suggestions, other than Karl S's for using solid coconut oil, which local TJ's doesn't carry. In my pantry I have only liquid oils- walnut, canola, olive & sesame. If I really should search out a solid veggie fat, I will.

Does anyone have any suggestions? I was going to play around a bit with toppings, but figured I would check here 1st to see if anyone had any brilliant ideas to save me some taste testings. Not that I mind tasting several versions of apple crisp.....

[LauraGrace]

For future reference, I always keep coconut oil on hand for situations like this, where I want to bake without using dairy. I made a vegan fruit crisp this past weekend and the coconut oil in the topping was fantastic.

[tall sarah]

Thanks, everyone! I'm going to try the canola oil 1st to see how it goes. Maybe a touch of the walnut, just for flavor, since I won't get the buttery yumminess I'm used to. I'll report back after testing tonight!

[tall sarah]

So I did get some vegan butter- Earth's Balance original. I tasted it plain & it's nothing like real butter, but I just went for it anyway. And it made a DELICIOUS apple crisp!

I used 20 apples of mixed variety (macintosh, macoun, empire). For the topping, I mixed about 1 cup of ap flour, 1+ cup of oats, brown sugar (1 cup? not really sure), cinnamon to taste & salt. Then I cut in 1/2 the tub of vegan butter. Sprinkled it on top of the peeled, sliced apples & baked at 350 degrees for 45 min-1 hour, until it was bubbly on the sides & browned on top.

The topping even stayed crispy the next day. Everyone enjoyed it!

[cheesecake17]

I use the stick Earth Balance or Fleishmann's margarine. My topping recipe is very similar to yours, except I use 1/2 white sugar and 1/2 brown sugar. Also, if you want a slightly crunchy texture, add in a tablespoon or two of canola oil once all the topping ingredients have pretty much come together.

I've also added pecans or walnuts chopped.

[funniduck]

glad it worked out!

[funniduck]

Sub with Canola oil. If you want, Earth Balance (available at Whole Foods, possibly available at TJ?) I've done it with both.

[Jay2512]

I think you can use liquid vegetable oil to make a crunchy streusel topping since vegetable oil can be used to make a pie crust. I'd use an oil that's flavorless like canola, though. Nut oil is fine, too, provided it's from a kind of nut that goes well with apples. (Your walnut oil should be fine.) I wouldn't use sesame oil. It's very pungent and could very well ruin the whole thing, IMO.

[4Snisl]

How about just topping with a vegan granola?

If you prefer to create the crisp topping instead, this is what I propose:
1. Use a combination of walnut oil, nuts, oats, flour, cinnamon and maple syrup (which will add sweetness and promote crispness).
2. Mix the dry ingredients, add in enough oil to get a "damp sand" texture.
3. Then add enough maple syrup to sweeten and get a "wet sand" texture.

Hope it works out well! I wondered about using a vegan margarine, but am concerned that there might be water content that sogs out the topping. Don't cook much with it, so don't know how it would work.....