When Louisa May Alcott and her family moved into the Concord home that would become famous as Orchard House, they found a house with plenty of character—and more than a few architectural peculiarities. Built in the mid-1600s, the old structure had floors that sloped, walls that leaned, and a general tendency to tilt in several directions at once.
Rather than being bothered by its imperfections, the Alcotts embraced them with humor. Mrs. Alcott and Louisa affectionately nicknamed their crooked home Apple Slump, borrowing the name from a favorite family dessert. The comparison was particularly apt. In an apple slump, sliced apples are baked beneath a simple batter topping that rises unevenly as it cooks, creating a rustic surface of peaks and hollows rather than the smooth, even top of a conventional cake.
The name suited Orchard House so well that it stuck. Louisa herself used Apple Slump with affection, turning what might have been regarded as an architectural shortcoming into one more endearing feature of the family home.
The Orchard House recipe for apple slump calls for tart apples baked with brown sugar and spices beneath a buttery, cake-like topping. Served warm or cooled, it can be finished with whipped cream, ice cream, or maple syrup.
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Jan Turnquist is executive director of Louisa May Alcott’s Orchard House, an internationally acclaimed portrayer of Louisa May Alcott, historical consultant, and Emmy winner for her Orchard House documentary, which streams on PBS.
