# 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.

**British Cuisine · 50 min · 6 servings · 310 kcal per serving**

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.

## Ingredients


### The filling
- 6 — Apples, peeled and cubed
- 3 — Sugar
- 1 — Cinnamon
- 1 — Lemon juice
- 1 — Cornflour

### The crumbs
- 150 — Flour
- 75 — Cold butter, cubed
- 75 — Brown sugar
- 50 — Oats (optional, for crunch)
- 0.25 — Salt

## 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.
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.

## Tips

- 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.

## FAQ

### 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.

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Source: https://hanakoleah.com/en/british-cuisine/apple-cinnamon-crumble
Edited by: Marwa Mohamed
Last updated: 2026-10-30