How To Make Apple & Blackberry Crumble
Oct 12th, 2009 by admin
Crumble is an all-time favourite of mine and yet I’ve never made it before. Boarding school lunches and dinners were made all the more palatable with the anticipation of a large bowl of fruit crumble drenched with an extra portion of steaming hot custard. We would sometimes get seconds too, if we were very lucky. It marked the perfect end to a not-so-great meal. I’m not fussy about the fruit used in a crumble. Rhubarb, apple, pear, blackberry and other berries are all wonderful. The texture and thickness of the crumble topping, as well as the proportion of crumble to fruit, are more important factors for me. I need a lot of crumble and even more hot custard (although some people like it cold!).
I reviewed Mark Hix’s British Regional Food a few months ago and came across his recipe for apple and blackberry crumble, which I’ve been meaning to make ever since. When our ever generous neighbour gave us some Bramley apples from his allotment, the husband wandered outside the house to pick some ripe blackberries from the bushes on our lane, and we were all set to make crumble (if you’re wondering why I still have blackberries, I don’t. This post was written weeks ago when the berries were still fat and juicy!).
Ingredients: (with my comments in italics)
- good knob of butter (I took this to mean a good scoop with a knife)
- 3 large Bramley apples, peeled, cored and roughly chopped
- 75g caster sugar
- 150g blackberries and / or any other berries like blueberries or elderberries
- thick or clotted cream, or custard, to serve
for the crumble topping
- 40g cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
- 30g ground almonds
- 60g caster sugar
- 80g plain flour
What to do next:
Preheat the oven to 190C / gas 5.
First make the filling – melt the butter in a pan, add the apples and sugar, and cook for 6-7 minutes, stirring occasionally until they begin to break down but are not too soft.
Remove from heat and stir in the blackberries (and other berries). Put in a suitable ovenproof pie dish or small individual pie dishes (which I greased).
Mix all the topping ingredients in a food processor or mixer, or rub between your fingers until they look like breadcrumbs (I did the latter). I also doubled the amount of crumble topping, as it didn’t look like there would be quite enough to form a thick layer.
Sprinke the crumble topping over the top of the filling and bake in the preheated oven for 30-40 minutes, until the top is golden brown. (Our oven behaves rather erratically, so the crumble was ready in 20 minutes).
Serve with thick or clotted cream, or custard.
I used shop-bought custard from Waitrose. It’s also delicious with some pouring cream added on top of the custard. After two helpings though, I knew I had over-indulged…
What are your favourite fruits for crumble? Do you prefer custard or cream? And do you know the origins of crumble? According to Wikipedia, it originated during the Second World War in Britain, but I thought it was a lot older than that…
Other recipes on World Foodie Guide.
OOoooohhh….(holding my tummy )
Such an easy dessert to make yet I never attempt to make it more often.
Your pictures and writing has reminded me it’s time to make one this week:)
the perfect autumnal comfort food! I love mine with plums and rhubarb (separately)…this looks utterly sublime.
Wow, super delicious dessert!
Your Apple & Blackberry Crumble looks juicy and tempting. Your picture makes me very hungry. ^0^
I like all kinds of berries, strawberry, raspberry…..for crumble.
I’m not a huge fan of crumble, but that is perhaps harking back to school canteen versions. I think I might attempt to make one soon, it might change my mind!
I think that I want some of that now! Custard or ice cream for me
I can dive right into that last photo! My favorite crumble (though it’s known here as a ‘crisp’) would be apple, with a giant scoop of vanilla ice cream on top. However, I love the idea of hot custard! This is a perfect dessert for the arrival of cold weather . . .
I love blackberry and apple crumble. Rhubarb is also a favourite. As a kid we had crumble every week through the autumn. We used to used some wholemeal flour and some oats in the topping and demerara (sp?) sugar not caster – its makes for a lovely crunchy slightly nutty topping that’s not too sweet. I prefer cream or ice cream to custard. Might need to make some this coming weekend mmmmm.
Yea I’m traumatised by the crumbles served at the boarding school I went to but yours looks great!
I think I’m getting fatter just looking at it.
Oh how I adore a good crumble and apple and blackberry has got to be one of the best combinations. If faced with the decision between cream and custard, I would have both. No doubt about it. Just a little tiny drizzle of cream on top, but mostly custard.
Chee – it is so easy! I can’t believe that I’ve never made it before, yet I really like it so much. Have fun making yours!
gastrogeek – I’ve not had plum before, but rhubarb is another favourite of mine!
Christine – thanks! All kinds of berries are great for crumble…
Lizzie – it must be the school version that’s put you off! Make one and see what you think…
aptronym – ice cream is good too, a contrast of hot and cold…
Tangled Noodle – yes, I’ve been seeing mentions of ‘crisp’ on Twitter and wondered if it was exactly the same as crumble or a variation. I must look into that more…
goodshoeday – thanks for the topping tips! I’ll experiment more next time. The topping texture and taste are crucial for me…
Pigpigscorner – thank you! You too?!
Chinamatt – I can imagine keeping warm this autumn and winter on the layer of fat produced by consuming crumble on a regular basis…
Helen – that’s exactly the combination, more custard, less cream. A perfect combination…
Helen Yuet Ling
I so agree, the crumble on top is crucial! Must be buttery good for me. Fruit,well any fruit is good really but the crumble topping can be a real dealbreaker!
I can’t believe you posted on this today! This pregnant woman was seriously craving just this very thing yesterday. When I lived in scotland I scoured the hedgerows every Fall and filled my freezer with blackberries, mostly for apple and blackberry crumble. Living in the USA, I haven’t found a free source of blackberries but I was so longing for this yesterday that I was thinking of actually buying those tasteless things at the supermarket, longing for a bit of comfort. Fortunately, or unfortunately, the supermarket didn’t have any yesterday, so I never got my craving fulfilled. But, maybe seeing this again today, I’ll have to see if I can find them somewhere else.
What a yummy looking dessert. Apples spell the changing of the seasons for me and I love to seek out recipes containing them. This one with its mix of blackberries looks delicious.
Crumble can be a difficult one to make as I remember making some once and putting too much butter in it didn’t go lovely and crispy on top. My favourite is strawberry and rhubarb crumble with a polenta based topping. Deeelish.
Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella – so glad you agree that the topping is crucial! I thought I was being a bit picky, but it seems not…
Heather L. – foraging is fun (OK, it’s not quite foraging when the bushes are just outside on the lane). It’s a shame you don’t have access to wild ones now…
OysterCulture – thanks. It was really easy making it too, luckily. Or unluckily, as I’ll be eating this on a regular basis!
Kate – a polenta based topping?! I must try that next time. I’ve also never had strawberry in a crumble before. Thank you for the tip!
Helen Yuet Ling
Read this thru RT by Lorraine@NGN. Obsessed over it for a whole week and finally able to make it tonight. Just managed to take a picture before it is all devoured. http://tinyurl.com/yfalogh. Adapted the topping recipe with toasted ground hazel nut instead of almond and rather enjoyed it…. well, and I got no almond meal at home.
pigflyin – hello! That looks really really good! And thanks for another tip on the substitute for the ground almond. I’ll know what to use when I run out…
Helen Yuet Ling