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Is there any dish that more perfectly encapsulates autumn than apple and blackberry crumble? Just the word ‘crumble’ brings up thoughts of walks in the crisp autumn air, beneath golden and red leaved trees, collecting conkers and kicking up leaves in our path. Our neighbour is helping out with the autumn feel, having a very large apple tree with an abundance of apples which he kindly donated a portion of it’s current crop to us (we reciprocated by donating some of our crumble!)

 

I must admit I am a recent convert to the charms of the fruit crumble as I’m not keen on cooked fruit, but this recipe by Raymond Blanc has me sold – the pre-baking of the crumble means that there is no sogginess and the fruit retains it’s texture. Plus, it’s super easy! Depending on your taste, you may want to reduce the amount of sugar in the crumble topping – I have a sweet tooth and loved it, but others felt it was a bit too sweet.

 

 

You will need

 

For the crumble topping

120g plain flour

60g caster sugar

60g unsalted butter at room temperature, cut into pieces

 

For the fruit compote

300g cooking apples

30g unsalted butter

30g Demerara sugar

115g blackberries

¼ ground cinnamon

 

Vanilla ice cream, to serve

 

How to make it

 

1. Heat oven to 190C/170C fan/gas 5. Tip the flour and sugar into a large bowl. Add the butter, then rub into the flour using your fingertips to make a light breadcrumb texture. Do not overwork it or the crumble will become heavy. Sprinkle the mixture evenly over a baking sheet and bake for 15 mins or until lightly coloured.
2. Meanwhile, for the compote, peel, core and cut the apples into 2cm dice. Put the butter and sugar in a medium saucepan and melt together over a medium heat. Cook for 3 mins until the mixture turns to a light caramel. Stir in the apples and cook for 3 mins. Add the blackberries and cinnamon, and cook for 3 mins more. Cover, remove from the heat, then leave for 2-3 mins to continue cooking in the warmth of the pan.
3. To serve, spoon the warm fruit into an ovenproof gratin dish, top with the crumble mix, then reheat in the oven for 5-10 mins. Serve with vanilla ice cream.

Recipe from BBC Good Food