Apple and Cinnamon Crumble
Crumble is fruit under a rubble of flour, butter and sugar baked until golden. The golden ratio is 2 flour : 1 butter : 1 sugar by weight, and the butter must be cold, rubbed in with your fingertips until it resembles crumbs rather than dough.
- Prep
- 10 min
- Cook
- 40 min
- Total
- 50 min
- Calories
- 310
Crumble is the easiest pudding in English cooking: ten minutes of work and ingredients any kitchen already has. It was in fact born of wartime rationing, when pastry ingredients were scarce — so instead of a full pastry lid, crumbs over the fruit and done.
Method
-
1
Prepare the apples
Toss the diced apple with the sugar, cinnamon, lemon juice and cornflour. The cornflour catches the juice the fruit releases and stops the dish going watery.
⏱ 8 min -
2
Rub in the butter
Rub the cold butter into the flour and salt with your fingertips until it looks like breadcrumbs. Do not knead — kneading develops gluten and turns it into a solid sheet of dough.
⏱ 7 min -
3
Add the sugar
Stir the brown sugar, salt and oats through the crumbs with a fork. The oats add crunch and stop the topping compacting.
⏱ 2 min -
4
Assemble
Spread the apples in an ovenproof dish and cover with the crumble without pressing it down. Pressing turns the topping into a solid crust instead of crumbs.
⏱ 3 min -
5
Bake
Bake at 180°C for thirty-five to forty-five minutes, until the surface is golden and the juices bubble up around the edges.
⏱ 40 min -
6
Rest
Let it rest for ten minutes before serving so the juices thicken and settle. Serve warm with ice cream or custard.
⏱ 10 min
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Tips that actually matter
- The butter must come straight from the fridge. Soft butter gives you dough, not crumbs.
- Sharp apples such as Granny Smith are best — sweet varieties collapse and go watery.
- Any fruit works: peaches, plums, berries, or a mixture. Juicier fruit needs more cornflour.
- The crumble topping freezes raw for two months, so make a big batch and use it as needed.
People also ask
Why is my crumble watery?
The fruit released a lot of juice with nothing to hold it. Add a spoonful of cornflour or flour to the filling, and rest it ten minutes out of the oven.
Why did my topping turn to dough?
The butter was soft, or the mixture was kneaded. Use cold butter and rub with fingertips only, until it looks like crumbs.
Can I make it without oats?
Absolutely. Oats add crunch but are not essential — the traditional recipe is flour, butter and sugar only.
What is the difference between a crumble and a cobbler?
A crumble has a dry crumb topping. A cobbler is topped with spoonfuls of scone dough that puff up in the oven.
Cook mode
Apple and Cinnamon Crumble
-
1
Prepare the apples
Toss the diced apple with the sugar, cinnamon, lemon juice and cornflour. The cornflour catches the juice the fruit releases and stops the dish going watery.
-
2
Rub in the butter
Rub the cold butter into the flour and salt with your fingertips until it looks like breadcrumbs. Do not knead — kneading develops gluten and turns it into a solid sheet of dough.
-
3
Add the sugar
Stir the brown sugar, salt and oats through the crumbs with a fork. The oats add crunch and stop the topping compacting.
-
4
Assemble
Spread the apples in an ovenproof dish and cover with the crumble without pressing it down. Pressing turns the topping into a solid crust instead of crumbs.
-
5
Bake
Bake at 180°C for thirty-five to forty-five minutes, until the surface is golden and the juices bubble up around the edges.
-
6
Rest
Let it rest for ten minutes before serving so the juices thicken and settle. Serve warm with ice cream or custard.
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