The Lake Inn’s Warm Apple Cinnamon Crumble
There’s something about a warm apple dessert that feels like coming home.
The scent of cinnamon drifting through the kitchen, apples bubbling beneath a buttery crumble topping, and a scoop of vanilla ice cream slowly melting over everything—it’s exactly the kind of dessert made for chilly evenings, cozy sweaters, and a good book.
And it feels right at home at The Lake Inn.
Inspired by my book The Inn Beyond the Shore, this Warm Apple Cinnamon Crumble is the kind of dessert I imagine Lauren serving to guests after finally bringing the old Victorian inn back to life.
A Little Taste of The Lake Inn
In The Inn Beyond the Shore, Lauren Henshaw is searching for a new beginning.
A year after her divorce, she takes a leap of faith and uses her inheritance to purchase The Lake Inn, an abandoned Victorian inn overlooking Lake Michigan in the small town of Willow Point Shore.
Restoring it turns out to be far more complicated than Lauren imagined.
There are expensive repairs, endless renovations, secrets hidden inside the walls—and Evan Cole, the handsome local contractor who becomes an increasingly important part of Lauren's new life.
Throughout the story, The Lake Inn slowly transforms from an abandoned building into something much more meaningful: a place for people to gather, make memories, and feel at home.
And what better way to make an inn feel like home than something warm baking in the oven.
The Lake Inn’s Warm Apple Cinnamon Crumble
This recipe is simple, comforting, and perfect for fall. Serve it straight from the oven when you're entertaining friends, enjoying Sunday dinner with the family, or curling up with your latest cozy read.
Serves: 6–8
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Bake Time: 35–40 minutes
Ingredients
For the apple filling:
- 6 medium apples, peeled, cored, and thinly sliced
- ⅓ cup brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
For the crumble topping:
- 1 cup old-fashioned oats
- ¾ cup all-purpose flour
- ½ cup packed brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup unsalted butter, melted
- ½ cup chopped pecans, optional
How to Make It
Preheat your oven to 350°F and lightly grease an 8x8-inch baking dish.
In a large bowl, combine the sliced apples with brown sugar, lemon juice, cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla, and flour. Toss everything together until the apples are evenly coated, then spread them into your prepared baking dish.
Next, make the crumble topping. Combine the oats, flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, salt, and pecans if you're using them. Add the melted butter and stir until you have a crumbly mixture.
Sprinkle the topping generously over the apples.
Bake for 35–40 minutes, or until the apples are tender and bubbling around the edges and the crumble has turned beautifully golden.
Let it cool for about 10 minutes before serving—if you can wait that long!
Make It Lake Inn Style
For the full Lake Inn experience, serve your apple crumble in a beautiful ceramic baking dish while it's still warm. Place a serving in a bowl with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream on top.
Add a drizzle of caramel sauce for a little extra indulgence.
Then pour yourself a cup of hot coffee, tea, or spiced apple cider, grab a blanket, and settle into your favorite reading chair.
Bonus points if there's a chilly breeze outside and a view of the water nearby.
A Recipe Made for Cozy Reading Season
One of my favorite things about writing small-town stories is imagining all the little details that make those fictional places feel real—the shops along Main Street, familiar faces around town, seasonal festivals, cups of coffee shared between friends, and recipes passed around the dinner table.
I can easily imagine The Lake Inn Apple Crumble becoming one of Lauren's signature desserts.
Maybe it's served during the inn's first autumn season. Maybe guests begin asking for the recipe before they check out. And perhaps, years later, it's simply known around Willow Point Shore as Lauren's apple crumble.
Because sometimes the smallest traditions are the ones that make a place feel like home.
And that's really what Lauren's journey in The Inn Beyond the Shore is all about: discovering that it's never too late to rebuild, begin again, and create a place—and a life—that feels like your own.
So bake yourself something sweet, pour a warm drink, and spend a little time at The Lake Inn.