There is nothing like an apple crumble brought steaming to the table straight from the oven...
 |
| Two-stage make-ahead Apple Crumble with the crunchiest topping ever |
But with a mid-week meal or a multi-coursed Sunday lunch, who has the time to prep a crumble and the oven space to cook it properly.
Behold! 67goingon50 presents a two-stage stonkingly delicious crumble, perfect for busy cooks who don't want to stint on flavour or texture of this perennial favourite.
It was first created for 25 people at a retreat centre on the Waterperry estate in Oxfordfordshire, and time dictated it had to be prepared in advance, without going soggy.
The solution? Part bake it in its separate components: fruit in one pan, crumble on another. Reassemble when it's needed and finish the bake until the top is crisp, crumbly and bubbly juices are seeping up from its edges.
The recipe posting here uses apples but you could use pears or plums or apricots. If you're feeling creative, toss in a few blackberries, raspberries or cranberries for a spot of color and flavour contrast.
Everyone loved the 'basic' version which contained a few chopped nuts in the topping. 67 has re-created the crumble for 2 but the recipe multiplies easily.
Costs: £1.75'ish
Feeds: 2
Ingreds:
Fruit:
2 medium to large dessert apples or equiv
1 generous tbs brown sugar
1/8 tsp each cinnamon, nutmeg & cardamom (or ginger or allspice)
Crumble Topping:
1/2 cup/80gm/2.75oz white flour
1/4 cup/40gm/1.4oz wholemeal flour
1/4 cup/40gm/1.4oz oatmeal
2-3 generous tablespoons brown sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp cardamom or ginger
1/3 tsp salt
80gm/2.75oz cold unsalted plant or dairy butter, in small cubes
handful of nuts coarsely chopped
Method:
Fruit:
- Preheat oven to 200C/390F; put a small container of water in bottom of oven
- Lightly butter sides & bottom of a deep 6inch/15cm cake tin (online or J Lewis)
- Mix sugar & spices
- Peel apples, cut into quarters, remove cores; slice each quarter in thirds; toss slices in sugar spice mix till coated
- Place in bottom of cake tin (tidiness is not important here); cover tin tightly with foil so that no moisture can enter or leave
- Bake in oven 20-30 mins alongside pan of water until apple slices can be penetrated with a sharp knife but still hold their shape
- Cool in pan; cover; refrigerate 4 hours or overnight
Crumble:
- Mix flours, oatmeal, spices & salt
- Rub in butter coarsely until mixture resembles peas
- Mix in nuts; stir well
- Spread out on a med-large tray so that it looks like a large biscuit
- Remove water from oven; turn heat down to 180C/350F
- Bake crumble 20 mins or until middle is chunky and cookie-like; watch the edges which may turn dark and begin to burn - check at around 15 mins
- Remember: you are not cooking this until it's done; it's meant to be half-cooked. Set aside till cool; store in a sealable storage bag
When ready to bake:
- Take apples out of fridge
- Preheart oven to 180C/350F
- Spread a good layer of the crumble on top of apples to the edges, a mixture of big chunks and rubble looks good (leftover topping will keep for a few days in an air-tight bag in the fridge)
- Bake 15-20 mins until topping is golden brown and smelling gorgous
Serve with custard or cream.
Comments:
- 'We have decided that the Apple Crumble was (tongue in cheek) not quite up to scratch and would like you to make another one as soon as possible to show us whether a second helping is as good as or better than the first!' Retreat Team Leader
- 'The crumble was very tasty; the apples were so good that, for me, it didn't really need any topping at all. But I am dentally challenged, and crunchy things are a bit hard to eat. I also am a diabetic and absolutely loved the sweet dessert apples which had hardly any added sugar.' 67 handyman
Please leave a Comment in the box below
This recipe has been developed by B Lee/ Bright Sun Enterprises and may not be reproduced, in any form, without the author's written permission.
