A hearty crumble is one of those warming desserts that we love all year round, whatever the weather. We particularly love to tuck into thisdish on bonfire night. You can swap out the apples for peaches or apricots in summer and rhubarb in spring.
This recipe from cook Delia Smith combines two different types of apples with almonds and has a tasty topping that "bakes to a lovely short, crumbly crispness." Our stomach is rumbling already!
Serves 6-8 | Cooking time 35-40 minutes
Ingredients
700g Bramley apples
225g Cox's apples
25g light brown soft sugar
1 level teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ level teaspoon ground cloves
For the crumble:
110g whole almonds, skin on
75g chilled butter, cut into small dice
175g self-raising flour, sifted
2 level teaspoons ground cinnamon
110g demerara sugar
To serve:
Custard or pouring cream
Equipment
You will need either an oval ovenproof baking dish measuring 19 x 28 cm and 4.5 cm deep, or a round ovenproof baking dish with a diameter of 24 cm and 4.5 cm deep.
Method
- Pre-heat the oven to gas mark 6, 200°C. Begin by preparing the apples. Delia suggests the best way to do this is to cut them first in quarters, then pare off the peel with a potato peeler and slice out the cores.
- Now cut them into thickish slices and toss them in a bowl with the sugar, cinnamon and ground cloves, then place them in the baking dish and put to one side.
- To make the crumble, place the butter, sifted flour, cinnamon and sugar in a processor and give it a whiz till it resembles crumbs.
- Next add the almonds and process again, not too fast, until they are fairly finely chopped and there are still a few chunky bits.
- Now simply sprinkle the crumble mixture all over the apples, spreading it right up to the edges of the dish, and, using the flat of your hands, press it down quite firmly all over; the more tightly it is packed together the crisper it will be.
- Finish off by lightly running a fork all over the surface.
- Now bake the crumble on the centre shelf of the oven for 35-40 minutes, by which time the apples will be soft and the topping golden brown and crisp.
- Leave it to rest for 10-15 minutes before serving, then serve it warm with custard or pouring cream.
TIP: If you don't have a processor, in a large bowl, rub the butter into the sifted flour until it resembles crumbs, then stir in the cinnamon, sugar and almonds, which should be fairly finely chopped by hand.
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