Apple Crumble
Soft Bramley apples under a buttery, golden crumble: the easiest and best-loved British pudding.
- Prep
- 20 min
- Cook
- 40 min
- Total
- 1 hr
- Makes
- 6 servings
- Difficulty
- Easy
Apple crumble is the pudding of British autumn. Use Bramley apples if you can: this cooking apple, grown from a seedling planted in Southwell, Nottinghamshire in the early 1800s, collapses into a sharp, fluffy purée that contrasts with the sweet, crunchy topping. The topping is simply flour, butter and sugar rubbed together, like the start of pastry.
Ingredients
Fruit
- 1kgBramley apples, peeled, cored and cut into chunks
- 50gcaster sugar, or to taste
- 1tbspwater
Crumble
- 175gplain flour
- 100gcold unsalted butter, cubed
- 75gdemerara or soft brown sugar
- 40gporridge oats, optional, for extra crunch
Equipment
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- Ovenproof pie dishHow to chooseShop on Amazon UK(affiliate link, opens in a new tab)
- Large mixing bowlHow to chooseShop on Amazon UK(affiliate link, opens in a new tab)
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Method
- 1
Heat the oven to 190°C / 170°C fan / gas 5. Toss the apples with the caster sugar and water and spread them in a baking dish of about 1.5 litres.
Photo: Mutney · CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped) - 2
Rub the butter into the flour with your fingertips until it looks like coarse breadcrumbs, then stir in the sugar and oats. Scatter evenly over the apples without pressing down, and bake for 35–40 minutes until golden and bubbling at the edges.
Photo: Jonathan Harker · CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
Tips
Serve with hot custard, cream or vanilla ice cream. More classics in British puddings.
Variations: add a handful of blackberries in September, or a pinch of cinnamon to the apples.
If it goes wrong
| Problem | Likely cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Topping soggy | Crumble pressed down, or apples too juicy | Scatter loosely; use a wider dish so the topping is thinner |
| Apples still firm | Dessert apples used | Use Bramleys, or part-cook dessert apples for 5 minutes first |
