Friday, 15 October 2010

Apple and blackberry crumble

So it's now very much autumn. I quite like autumn- I get to wear boots, wrap myself in shawls, and eat things like baked potatoes and crumble (though possibly not all at the same time). I was relatively efficient this year in picking some blackberries at the end of summer and stashing them away in the freezer. And so the other week, I thought I'd use some of them in a crumble.
Crumbles are probably one of the simplest puddings to make, and these days I just assemble it by eye rather than weighing out ingredients. But below is a rough guide to what you'll need (or have a look at the Guardian food blog on the subject). I've started to add crushed amaretti biscuits to the crumble topping, as I like the extra crunch and the subtle almond flavour works well with both the apple and blackberries.

Recipe (enough for around 6 people)

2 Bramley apples, peeled and sliced
Around 750g blackberries (fresh or frozen)
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tblsp sugar (I use demerara)
2 tblsp water

175g plain flour
80g butter
80g sugar
2 handfuls of amaretti biscuits (roughly crushed)

Put the apples, sugar, water, cinnamon in saucepan and cook gently until the slices are softened but still holding their shape. Add in the blackberries and stir until everything turns a deep claret colour. Taste the fruit to make sure you're happy with the flavour, I like it to retain a little sharpness, but add more sugar if you want.
Rub the butter into the sugar and flour to make crumbs, and then mix in the crushed biscuits. Let the fruit cool a bit, and then put it in a deep-ish dish that's big enough to hold it and a layer of the crumble topping. Bake at gas 5 for around 30-40mins, or until the fruit is bubbling up at the edges and the top is golden. Serve in a big bowl with some thick double cream or ice cream (or custard if you're old school).

5 comments:

Chloe said...

Yeah autumn! Got my cape out again, A says it makes me look like a Peeler, but I like being cosy

Chloe said...

Nice crumble btw, very Niggle Slater

TheFastestIndian said...

Haha- I see that A hasn't quite got with the concept of autumn cosiness!
Also I love Sir Nigel of Slater.

Unknown said...

Yum! I am drooling!

TheFastestIndian said...

Thanks Joy!