The humble crumble. One of the easiest desserts going, and easily one of the most satisfying and difficult to mess up. It even ‘fancies up’ into an apple crumble pie if you’re feeling slightly more energised and willing to put in the extra effort of a pastry base.
This is one I crave as the weather starts to turn and the jumpers come out. When I want something warm, cinnamon-laced and comforting without having to put much effort in to create a truly comforting dessert. It’s quick to throw together, a great one to get little kids involved to help (little fingers make great work at crumbling butter, flour and sugar together) and the fruit base does a convincing job of making you feel like you’re eating something kind of healthy. It’s not—but that hasn’t stopped me yet, especially when it’s buried under custard or ice cream. No mixers or equipment needed, hands are the best tools to bring the topping together and ensuring its not over mixed.
The only real requirement here is patience. Not my strong suit, but worth it. Give the apples time and you end up with a soft, almost caramelised base, cut through with just enough tartness from the raspberries and topped with buttery crumble. This one made more tender and moorish with ground almonds replacing much of the flour. Rushed, it’s fine. Left to do its thing, it’s far better. At a push, it could even pass as a breakfast if you top it with yogurt – I certainly wouldn’t judge!
Worth Making?
- Yes — if you want a quick comfort dessert without requiring much effort or planning
- Yes — if you like desserts that aren’t aggressively sweet, the raspberries and tart apples buffer the sweetness
- Yes — if you need something forgiving enough to throw together with fruit that’s slightly past its prime
- Skip it — if you want instant gratification, the apples need time to properly soften and caramelise
- Skip it — if you have nut allergies, stick with a more traditional crumble, the almond meal gives it the tender crumb
- Skip it — if you’re trying to avoid cream, custard or ice cream because this practically begs for one of them
Apple & Raspberry Crumble
Ingredients
- 12 medium size Granny Smith apples
- 200 grams raspberries
- 70 grams sugar
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp lemon juice
Almond Crumble Topping
- 100 grams plain flour
- 150 grams almond meal
- 100 grams brown sugar
- 180 grams softened butter I use salted butter
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 tsp cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180 C.
- Peel and slice apples into quarters then chunks keeping roughly same size pieces so that the apples cook evenly.
- Add apples, raspberries, sugar, lemon, cinnamon to a bowl or mix straight into your baking dish. Use a 28 x 18cm ceramic baking dish or similar capacity.
- In a separate bowl, combine flour, almond meal, brown sugar, cinnamon, salt and almond meal. Add butter and rub in with your fingers until fully combined and starting to form a ‘crumbly’ texture. If the texture is too dry or too wet, adjust your ingredients slightly until you achieve the right texture.
- Crumble the topping over the fruit in the baking dish ensuring to cover all of the fruit. It will look like there is too much topping but it cooks down. You want it heaped and looking like it’s ‘too much’.
- Place baking dish on a tray to catch any syrup or rogue crumbly bits that fall off. Bake for 40 to 60 minutes or until apples are soft when prodded with a knife (check middle of crumble as outsides will cook quicker). Cook less if you prefer the apples with a bit more texture.
Make it your own way
- Swap the raspberries for blackberries, blueberries or pears for apples depending on what you have or need to use up
- Add rolled oats to the crumble if you like a rougher, crunchier topping
- A spoonful of almond meal in the crumble gives it a slightly richer, almost frangipane-like edge
- Add orange zest to the fruit base if you want it brighter and a more bold flavour note in the base. I prefer to go heavier on the cinnamon
- Turn it into a pie by layering the filling into a pastry shell and topping with the crumble
- Serve it cold from the fridge the next day for breakfast with thick yogurt — genuinely underrated
