This is one of the easiest desserts to put together and it never fails to impress! You don't need to confine yourself to apples only. I have used bananas, plums, peaches and pears with great success.
The crumble
Flour 1 cup
Butter (cold) ½ cup, cut into pieces
Demerara sugar ½ cup
The filling
Apples 4 nos, peeled, cored and sliced
Brown sugar ¼ cup if the apples are tart.
2 Tbls should suffice if the apples are sweet.
Cinnamon ¼ tsp
Nutmeg ¼ tsp
Raisins (opt) 2 Tbls
Method
Butter a 9x12” glass dish lightly. Arrange the sliced apples in the dish and sprinkle the sugar and spice powders over the apples. Sprinkle the raisins on top.
Sift the flour into a mixing bowl. Rub in the butter along with the sugar into the flour, using the tips of your fingers only, in order to keep the mixture light, until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.
You can use a pastry blender as well.
Spread the crumble mixture evenly over the apples in the dish and press down lightly.
Bake in a moderately hot (375°F, 190°C) preheated oven for about 45 mins to an hour or until the crumble starts to brown on top.
If you find that your crumble topping is browning too quick, cover the dish with aluminium foil until the apples are cooked when poked with a skewer.
Serve either warm or cold with fresh cream or ice cream.
Crumble tip: You can use oats along with the flour as a variation. 1:1
Cornflakes and flour 1:1 along with 2 Tbls of chopped walnuts works well too.
