For more indulgent puddings, check out our bread pudding, hot cross bun bread and butter pudding and chocolate bread and butter pudding.
What is the origin of apple crumble?
Crumble was thought to originate during the 1940s in Britain as a quick and easy pudding. It uses the same ingredients as sweet pastry (flour, butter and sugar) and the method of rubbing the butter into the flour is the same but instead of bringing it together to a dough with liquid it’s just scattered over the filling and baked, keeping its short, crumbly texture.
Which apples should you use in a crumble?
Apple crumble traditionally uses Bramley cooking apples which bring a nice tartness to contrast to the sweet topping. Bramleys also cook to a lovely softness – if you want more texture in your crumble you could use a mix of cooking and eating apples as eating apples will keep their shape after cooking. The apples don’t need pre-cooking before you assemble the crumble, just peel and cut into chunks or wedges then scatter the topping and bake.
How to make a crumble topping
The basic topping mix can be adapted in lots of different ways. Try adding rolled oats or chopped walnuts, almonds or hazelnuts. Swap in demerara sugar for traditional caster for an caramelly crunchy topping or try mixing in dark chocolate chips for extra indulgence.
When making the crumble mix try to keep everything as cool as possible as you would making pastry. Use chilled diced butter straight from the fridge and if rubbing it in with your fingers, stop when you have a mix of small and large rubbly pieces – this will give your crumble extra texture. You can also tip the ingredients into a food processer then just use the pulse button until you reach the right texture.
Which spices are used in an apple crumble?
Spices are often used in both the filling and topping. The most traditional is cinnamon which goes beautifully with apple but other warming spices such as nutmeg, ground allspice, mixed spice and even ground cardamom can work really well. Start with a couple of pinches if you are experimenting then increase to your liking.
Easy apple crumble recipe
