Caramel apple skillet crisp

Toss the oats, flour, granulated sugar, demerara sugar, salt and cinnamon together by hand.

Add the cold cubed butter and smash it in with the fingertips until fully incorporated, with wet crumble pieces and no loose floury parts.

Chill the topping in the fridge.

Peel the apples, ringing the stem end and the base and peeling top to bottom.

Cut around the core to separate the lobes, then slice the flesh into roughly quarter inch slices.

Preheat the oven to 350 with a rack in the center position.

Over medium high heat sprinkle half the sugar evenly across the skillet and let it melt, adding the rest as it liquefies.

Stir to equalize the temperature, turning the heat down as the sugar takes on color.

Kill the heat and add the butter, which halts the cooking of the sugar, stirring well to emulsify it into the caramel.

Stir in the heavy cream and the vanilla extract.

Over medium heat add about half the apples, stir to coat, then add the rest as they soften and give off their juices.

Cook down until soft, translucent and reduced.

Stir the cornstarch with a little water to a slurry.

Bring the mixture to a boil, pour in the slurry and stir until the juices thicken, then take it off the heat.

Stir in the apple cider vinegar and a pinch of salt, then compact the filling into an even layer.

Top with all of the chilled crumble mixture.

Bake at 350 for 40 to 50 minutes until the surface is golden brown and the juices bubble.

Cool until warm but not steaming, and serve with vanilla ice cream.