Apple crumble baked fresh at home with lashings of custard. - This is what Sundays are made for! This easy crumble recipe is made with crisp, Bramley apples tossed in cinnamon, then baked with a simple crumble and hazelnut topping. Ready in 30 minutes; from peeling the apples to pulling a bubbling, golden crumble out of the oven.
👩🏻🍳 Why make this recipe
This apple crumble recipe is traditional, homemade and one the easiest yet most satisfying desserts I know. With a simple method that requires only 30 minutes, this is a great dessert for when you have mouths to feed and time to save!
Theres no need for any fancy equipment and no special skills required to make it look good. Just layering the apples and then crumble into a baking dish and popping into the oven until bubbling. Super simple.
🥘 Ingredients
To make this traditional apple crumble recipe you will need:
- 100g plain flour
- 75g ground almonds
- 100g golden caster sugar
- 100g cold, cubed, unsalted butter
- pinch of salt
- 500g peeled and chopped cooking apples
- 2 tablespoon Honey
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon (optional)
- 25g roasted chopped hazelnuts (optional)
Ingredient notes
Ground almonds: These are used to give extra flavour to the crumble, However, if you would rather not use almonds then just replace with the same amount of plain flour. Meaning the total flour would be 175g.
Apples: Use cooking apples.
Cinnamon: This warming spice goes fantastically well with the stewed apples. But if you prefer you can leave this out or substitute with nutmeg or allspice.
Hazelnuts: Optional - leave out if you prefer. I like to use chopped hazelnuts to add to the crunch and the flavour of the topping.
🔪 Step by step instructions
- Pre heat the oven to 180 degrees C (fan).
Prepare the crumble: Add 100g plain flour, 75g ground almonds, 100g golden caster sugar, 100g cubed unsalted butter and a pinch of salt to a mixing bowl. Use your finger tips to rub the butter into the rest of the ingredients until like breadcrumbs. Then place to one side while you prepare the apples. - Peel the apples, remove the core and then cut the flesh into rough 1cm cubes. Transfer the cubed apple to a 21cm (8 inch) pie dish and then add 2 tablespoon honey and 1 teaspoon cinnamon. Mix together well until the apple is fully coated in the honey and cinnamon
- Next take the crumble mix and evenly scatter over the apple until the entire surface is covered.
For extra crunch sprinkle over some chopped hazelnuts (optional). - Place the pie dish in the preheated oven and bake for 20 minutes or until the crumble is golden and the apple is bubbling.
Serve with custard.
💭 Expert tips
- Crumble topping: Crumble is usually a mixture of flour, butter and sugar. For this recipe I've also added ground almonds for extra flavour and chopped hazelnuts for extra crunch. However, both of these ingredients are optional. If you would prefer a nut-free option just replace the ground almonds with the same amount of flour and leave out the hazelnuts.
- Filling: The filling in this recipe is a chunky filling. This means that the cubed apples hold their shape. For a smooth filling stew the apples before placing in the pie dish. To do this add the apples to a pan with butter and cook gently until soft. Mash up until smooth then transfer to the pie dish and add the crumble.
❓ Frequently asked questions
Bramley cooking apples are the best option for using in a crumble. These deliciously, crisp, bright green apples are generally larger with a more sour taste than your standard eating apple. They are ideal for any kind of dessert as when baked they stew down almost immediately into a fluffy apple sauce perfect for using in crumbles, apple pies and apple turnovers.
Cooking apples are also a great option for making homemade apple sauce to go with your roast beef dinner
Using oats instead of flour is a great alternative, especially if you want to make this recipe gluten free (do double check the label to ensure that the oats you use are completely gluten free). To make this recipe with oats simply replace the flour with same amount of oats.
In the UK apple crisp and and crumble are the same thing and in fact the term apple crisp isn't generally used. In the US 'apple crisp' is a crumble made out of sugar and oats only, and 'apple crumble', is the same as the standard UK crumble made with butter, flour and sugar.
Once baked and cooled the crumble should be covered and then stored in the fridge for up to 3 days. You can briefly reheat the crumble in either the oven or microwave.
Apple crumble is best frozen before it has been baked. Once you have made up the crumble in a pie dish, wrap in cling film and then store in the freezer for up to 3 months. Throughly defrost in the fridge overnight before baking as instructed in this recipe.
🍨 Other dessert recipes
- Banana Bread
- Bakewell Tart
- 5 Easy Recipes for Pancakes
- Cinnamon Swirls
- Lemon Drizzle Cake
- Plum and Rhubarb Crumble
- Yorkshire Parkin Recipe
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📖 Recipe
Apple Crumble
Equipment
- Large mixing bowl
- 21cm (8 inch) pie dish
Ingredients
- 100 g plain flour
- 75 g ground almonds
- 100 g golden caster sugar
- 100 g cold unsalted butter (cubed)
- pinch of salt
- 500 g peeled and chopped cooking apples
- 2 tablespoon Honey
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 25 g roasted chopped hazelnuts (optional)
Instructions
- Pre heat the oven to 180 degrees C (fan). Prepare the crumble in a large mixing bowl. Add 100g plain flour, 75g ground almonds, 100g golden caster sugar, 100g cubed unsalted butter and a pinch of salt to the bowl.
- Use your finger tips to rub the butter into the rest of the ingredients until like breadcrumbs. Then place to one side while you prepare the apples.
- Peel the apples, remove the core and then cut the flesh into rough 1cm cubes. Transfer the cubed apple to a pie dish and then add 2 tablespoon honey and 1 teaspoon cinnamon. Mix together well until the apple is fully coated in the honey and cinnamon
- Next take the crumble mix and evenly scatter over the apple until the entire surface is covered. For extra crunch sprinkle over some chopped hazelnuts (optional).
- Place the pie dish in the preheated oven and bake for 20 minutes or until the crumble is golden and the apple is bubbling. Serve with custard.
Video
Nutrition
Notes
- Crumble topping: Crumble is usually a mixture of flour, butter and sugar. For this recipe I've also added ground almonds for extra flavour and chopped hazelnuts for extra crunch. However, both of these ingredients are optional. If you would prefer a nut-free option just replace the ground almonds with the same amount of flour and leave out the hazelnuts.
- Filling: The filling in this recipe is a chunky filling. This means that the cubed apples hold their shape. For a smooth filling stew the apples before placing in the pie dish. To do this add the apples to a pan with butter and cook gently until soft. Mash up until smooth then transfer to the pie dish and add the crumble.
This post was first published in December 2019. Updated in March 2021 with expert tips.
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