Whether opting for a classic apple crumble, adding blackberries or going for a peach crumble, they are all a delicious winter pudding.
Made in so many different ways, everyone has their own take on what a crumble should include.
However, I opted for Raymond Blanc’s recipe, a super simple and traditional apple and blackberry crumble recipe.
The notes on BBC Good Food said: “Make this seasonal apple and blackberry crumble for a comforting family pud.
“Pre-cooking the topping will make it extra-crispy, while also retaining the texture of the fruit.”
Ingredients:
For the crumble topping:
120g plain flour
60g caster sugar
60g unsalted butter, at room temperature
For the fruit compote:
300g Braeburn apple
30g unsalted butter
30g demerara sugar
115g blackberries
A quarter teaspoon of ground cinnamon
Vanilla ice cream, to serve
Method:
Heat the oven to 190C or 170C fan and then tip the plain flour and caster sugar into a large bowl.
Add in the unsalted butter and then rub into the flour using your fingertips to make a light breadcrumb texture, making sure not to overwork it.
Raymond Blanc recommends pre-baking the crumble for an extra crunch but this turned out way too crispy and biscuit-like for my liking.
If that is what you’re after, bake for 15 minutes. If not, set aside the topping whilst you make the compote.
Peel, core and cut the apples into 2cm cubes before putting the unsalted butter and demerara sugar in a medium saucepan.
Cook for three minutes until the mixture turns to a light caramel. Stir in the apples and cook for three minutes.
Add the blackberries and cinnamon before cooking for three minutes more. I found the apple to blackberry ratio to be slightly off so I did end up adding more blackberries into my crumble.
Cover, remove from the heat and then leave for two to three minutes to continue cooking in the pan.
If there is a lot of excess liquid, make sure to remove this or the crumble will be too watery.
Spoon the fruit into an ovenproof dish, top with the crumble mix and bake in the oven for 30 minutes. If you already cooked the crumble topping, it’ll only need an extra five to 10 minutes.
