Apple Crumble

There are few desserts which are as easy as to knock up as apple crumble and which is a guaranteed winner when it comes to impressing guests. There are many apple crumble recipes out there – I like my one because it is easy to remember and takes no time to make.This recipe is for a 20cm deep dish. Using individual pie dishes or ramekins for each person is an easy way to impress!

Ingredients

• Enough apples to fill your dish (I like Granny Smith, Golden Delicious and Fuji). You can take the easy option and use tinned apples.
• Punnet of blueberries (or use sultanas if you can’t get blueberries)
• 1 part butter (250g) at room temperature and cut into small cubes
• 1 part plain flour (250g)
• 1 part brown sugar (250g)
• 1 part dessicated coconut (250g)

What to do

1. Peel the apples and cut into bite sized cubes.
2. Optional step: cook the apples in a pan with a tablespoon of sugar over low heat. Place a lid on the pan to keep the moisture in, and turn occassionally. Remove from the pan before the apples get soft and soggy
3. Tip apples in dish and mix through blueberries

For the crumble

1. Cut the butter into small cubes.
2. Mix the flour, sugar and coconut together with your hands, on a bench top or on a tray
3. Rub the butter into the dry mixture with your fingers, one cube at a time. Most recipes recommend that you use a food processor for this step – mine is too small, so I have never tried it and anyway, how do you add the love without getting your hands messy?
4. By the end, you shouldn’t be able to see any butter, but you should be able to form balls of the mixture with your hands. Depending on how it feels, add more flour or butter.
5. Sprinkle the crumble on top of the apples – it should be quite a thick layer, and you shouldn’t be able to see the apples
6. Place in an oven at 160-180^oC and wait from the crumble to turn a golden brown (about 30 minutes).

So easy, that after a couple of times you will have committed the recipe to memory. And depending on your taste buds, you can change the proportions of coconut and sugar. Add a bit of cinnamon or use rolled oats instead of coconut.

My personal favourite is to eat this out of individual ramekins. I poke a hole through the crumble with a spoon and pour in some cool fresh cream…mmm….

Also, you can make this dish hours before you need to bake it. Just place it in the fridge covered with a bit of plastic and take it out to cook when you are ready!