We had the pleasure of dining with Investment Banker Friend and King’s College Boy several times this past week, as the latter came to attend his graduation. There are of course too many recipes to write up, as I eat faster than I can write. I am giving the recipe to what I thought was a very fine apple crumble from this evening’s dinner.
I don’t make crumbles much although it is always my dessert of choice if a restaurant offers it. I think the reason is that it doesn’t keep very well, unlike a cake. Even trying to move the leftovers from the baking tray to a storage bowl messed up the structure somewhat.
Once you master the basic crumble recipe it is easy to substitute the apples for other types of fruit: pear and chocolate, rhubarb and ginger, plum and apple. Tonight I made it with Bramley apples and blueberries.
For the Crumble:
150 g plain flour
50 g whole oats
100 g unsalted butter, cold, cut into cubes
50 g Demerara sugar
large pinch of fine sea salt
575 g eating apples, peeled and cored weight
125 g blueberries
50 g golden caster sugar
How to Make:
First make the crumble.
Place the flour, oats and butter in a mixing bowl. Rub the mixture together in between your fingertips. You are aiming for a light breadcrumb texture, but some clumping is ok to create crunchy clusters when the crumble is baked.
Add in the sugar and salt, using a spoon to lightly combine the crumble mixture. Set aside in the fridge until needed.
Preheat the oven to 180 C / 160 C fan whilst you are making the filling.
Cube the apples and place directly into the baking tin (20 cm x 20 cm). Add the blueberries and sugar.
Top with the crumble mixture and bake in the oven for 45 minutes or until the crumble looks brown and crunchy. Serve with warm vanilla custard.
For a more challenging dessert, try the Apple Crumble Cake. For Christmas try the Mincemeat Crumble. For real indulgence try the Pear and Chocolate Crumble. We are off to Devon for the weekend, where I aim to take in some fresh country air, eat a few nice meals, do some reading and write up more recipes. I am almost certain that a Crumble will feature in one of the restaurants we are visiting.
Post Script:
We ate the leftover crumble for a quick breakfast before leaving for Devon. It was delicious, warming and everything you would want in a good breakfast: fruit, oats, milk and eggs.
