Apple, sultana and cinnamon crumble
Serves 4-6
Prep time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 30-40 minutes
Another nursery pud that everyone greets with delight. We made it with home-grown Dorset eating apples. The crumble topping is easy to make in a food processor; just be careful not to over-process or you’ll end up with fine breadcrumbs – the pulse button is really helpful. It’s simple but a bit more work to make the crumble by hand (fingertips) – do keep your fingers cold by running your hands under a cold tap before you start rubbing the butter into the flour. We found using cold butter works best but some people like to soften it first.
A mixture of plain and wholemeal flour gives the crumble extra texture and flavour. We used gluten-free flour as one ‘sharer’ is gluten-sensitive, and it worked fine.
These amounts make a thick crumble topping, so use a big, shallow dish with plenty of surface area. If you prefer less topping, refrigerate the surplus or halve the quantities.
Ingredients
Topping
250g flour (plain white or a mix of plain and wholemeal)
125g unrefined brown sugar, eg, demerara
150g unsalted butter, chilled, cut into small cubes
40g oats
10g mixed seeds (optional)
50g flaked almonds (optional)
Filling
450g apples, cooking or eating, peeled, cored and cut into small chunks
70g sultanas
50g demerara sugar (40g if you are using sweet eating apples)
a pinch of ground cinnamon
1 tsp lemon juice
10g butter, to grease the crumble dish
1 tbsp demerara sugar, to sprinkle over the top
Method
1. Preheat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6 if you want to eat this straight away.
2. For the topping, mix the flour and sugar in a large bowl, add the cubed butter and toss together. Rub in by hand or in a food processor (see above) until the mixture resembles big breadcrumbs. Mix in the oats – and seeds, if using – with a large table knife. Set aside in a cool place or your refrigerator.
3. For the filling, put the apple pieces, sultanas, sugar and cinnamon in a large pan with a teaspoon of lemon juice and half a teacup of water (not a big mug…). Cook for 5-10 minutes on a medium heat until the apple has softened but not lost its shape and texture.
4. Lightly butter a large oven-proof dish, about 4cms-5cms deep, or individual oven-proof ramekins/pie dishes. Spoon in the cooked filling, then sprinkle the crumble mixture on top.
5. Add the flaked almonds, if using, then sprinkle the extra sugar on top.
6. Bake in the oven for 30-40 minutes until the crumble is golden brown and the fruit mixture bubbling.
7. Let it cool for a few minutes (or you risk burning your mouth). Serve with cream, ice cream, custard or Greek yoghurt.
Tip The apple crumble can be prepared in a single or multi-portion dish. You will need to reduce the cooking time for a smaller dish. The crumble is best served freshly baked but can be reheated in a microwave if needed.