How do you make Apple crumble?

My mum pours hot water over the crust and bakes it - this creates a caramel hard topping.

Do you add anything to yours or do you use any special techniques that make it special.

I'm intrigued by your mum's technique, Ingrid! I use a high proportion of ground almonds in the topping and never add sugar to the fruit.

I cut up the fruit and put it in the dish I'm going to bake it in. No precooking of the fruit. Sprinkle on some sugar if the fruit is particularly tart. Sprinkle on some custard powder. (Thickens the juice that forms the sauce). Add a topping of basically 225g flour, 165g sugar, 1 tsp spice to suit the fruit you are using, 90g rolled oats, 115g melted butter and any other nuts or seeds that take your fancy. Pile it onto fruit and I sometimes sprinkle a bit of demerara sugar on top for crunchiness. Bake for 20-30 minutes till the top is golden and crunchy.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/14/2017 11:59PM by Lorna.

Carolyn C...here is the recipe

APPLE & RHUBARB CRUMBLE
Approx. 4 cups stewed apple & stewed rhubarb mixed together or just stewed apple etc.
¾ cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
½ cup rolled oats
¾ cup white sugar (seems alot so less if you prefer)
100grams butter
Melt butter and mix into combined ingredients then sprinkle over the top of the apple.

Crunchy Topping:
¾ cup brown sugar
1 tblsp cornflour
½ cup boiling water
Mix brown sugar and cornflour together and sprinkle over the top of the crumble mix, then ‘gently’ pour the boiling water over the top – this creates the crunchy top.
Cook 180 degs
(Not good if you are on a diet!)

Ingrid, I've been looking at your recipe intending to give it a go because the topping sounds interesting. However, I've never seen a crumble recipe with baking powder in the topping, but then yours has the additional crispy top.

Does the first layer of topping have a 'cakey' texture due to the baking powder and then the crispy topping on top of that?

Lorna - hmmm I dont think it has a cakey texture, more crunchy topping but I guess the top is more inflated - if that makes sense

Thanks for the recipe, Ingrid! I will definitely give it a go.

Thank you Ingrid. I will give it a go this week, but just with apples. Oh, on second thoughts, I might add some blueberries that I have in the freezer.

Not going to score any browny points here, but I can't stand Apple Crumble with all the other bits and bobs - oats, almonds whatever else gets tossed in to the crumble mix. I like plain apple crumble that my grandmother and mother used to make with fruit on the bottom, butter rubbed into flour sprinkled with sugar and let the oven do the rest. Old fashioned. That's me. Maybe some cinnamon into the flour.

...no Kone, cinnamon on top of the fruit.

Otherwise perfect.

Regards,

Barbara Anne

Kone that is exactly the version my mother-in-law used to make,and i loved it.I have asked her what the recipe was and now she can't remember.I agree with you,no oats or almonds or any other bits and bobs.I think the cinnamon was on top of the apples as Barbara Anne says.I would love to find that plain Apple Crumble recipe again.

I'm happy to go with the cinnamon on top of the fruit and not the topping.

Marylew, this is my late Mum's recipe which I still make.. She called it Apple Crisp.

4 apples (I use Granny Smiths)
2 1/2 tblsp butter
1/2 c sugar
3/4 cup water (I sometimes substitute apple juice)
3/4 c flour

Slice apples and place in greased dish, pour over water, sprinkle with cinnamon. Rub butter into flour and sugar until crumbly and sprinkle on top of apples. Bake 1/2 hour at 175deg C.

Regards,

Barbara Anne

Excellent thanks Barbara Anne. That is the recipe and it was called Apple Crisp.I have written it in my recipe book,very grateful to have it.

I cant seem to get my crumble crunchy ( which I prefer) by rubbing butter into flour and sugar..I use my mums old recipe. I recently saw Donna hay adding melted butter and making a course crumble and it looked crunchier than mine. I will try that, but I also add coarse coconut and rolled oats to increase the bits of "healthy"!

Well, I made Ingrid's crunchy crumble last night, with apples and blueberries spiced with cardamom and ginger. I reduced the 1st measure of sugar because it sounded far too much sugar for my taste, especially as there was sugar in the topping too. Anyway, it was delicious and the top was crunchy, crunchy! I must admit I was skeptical and almost hesitant to pour water on top of flour, oats and sugar, but it worked. I'll be using the recipe again, but not every time I make crumble because I like my version, too.

I'm glad it turned out Lorna !

Good call on reducing the sugar.

I'm going to try your recipe too!