It’s getting closer to my fav time of year, autumn, which can only mean one thing – crumble season!! Everyone loves ’em, so quick and easy to make – I haven’t met a child that doesn’t like it, even if they just eat the nice part and not the fruit!
My crumble rules must be followed – you absolutely NEED a thick layer of biscuit topping, none of this thin dusting excuse – the fruit to crumble ratio needs to be 50/50 and then you need a salty/sweet combo. Follow these instructions and perfection is coming your way!!
You can use many different types of fruit for this and I usually go with what I have in. This time it was apples and a frozen berry mix. I find frozen mixes great for cooking and stewing. Just remember to defrost them first and get rid of excess liquid.
You don’t have to be exact with your fruit measurements. I think for this crumble I used about 4 large cored, peeled and chopped apples of any variety. And then a packet of frozen mixed berry mix – I would suggest raspberry, blackberry and black currant.
For the filling
4 large apples, peeled, cored and cubed
50 unsalted butter
30g demerara sugar
1 packet of mixed berries usually 450g
¼ tsp ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon cornflour
For the crumble
240g plain flour
120g caster sugar
120g unsalted butterat room temperature, cut into pieces
A large handful of oats
1/2 teaspoon of salt
For the fruit compote
Place all crumble ingredients except oats in a stand mixer or in a bowl and mix well until you have a ball of mixture.
Grease a nice big dish add the chopped apple and mixed fruit – sprinkle with cinnamon, cornflower, extra sugar and cubed pieces of butter
Place the crumble mixture on top in big chunks rather than dusty little pieces. Make sure there aren’t any gaps. Lastly sprinkle with oats. Sometimes when I have some in I pan roast walnuts and pecans – crush them and sprinkle on the top too.
Bake for 25 mins until the top is golden brown.
Serve with cream, custard or ice cream.
