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Nowt announces the arrival of autumn more emphatically than piping hot crumble arriving at the dinner table.
Fresh from the oven, the inviting aroma of baked butter and sugar filling the room, and the sight of sticky stewed fruit juices bubbling over the edges of a baking dish........ it's the stuff of autumnal dreams.
Crumble found its way onto our dinner tables during WW II (likely as an alternative to the traditional apple pie) when foodstuffs like sugar, butter flour, and eggs became rationed; a shortage of baking ingredients meant being creative with what little you did have, and the 'crumbling' together of butter, flour and sugar, baked over seasonal fruits gave ration-weary Brits a nod to the sweet indulgences of pre-war dining.
Born from necessity, the humble crumble became one of the nation's favourite comfort foods, intrinsically linked to family dinner time and the comforts of home.
As the temperature drops, we all welcome the return of warm, comforting puds, and with British Bramleys ripe for the picking, apple crumble is a seasonal highlight. Why Bramleys? Anyone who's bitten into an uncooked Bramley apple will know why! They're rather tart. Wincingly tart. But cooked down with a sprinkling of sugar, the tartness mellows, leaving a sweet, sharp, fresh apple flavour that's far superior to the results garnered from an eater. That's not to say you can't use eating apples, and a crumble is certainly a good way to use up any apples that are being ignored in the fruit bowl, but cookers are king when it comes to crumble.
And it's sooooo easy to make.
For the crumble
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300g/10½oz plain flour, sieved
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pinch of salt
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175g/6oz demerara sugar
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200g/7oz unsalted butter, cubed, plus a little for greasing
For the filling
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450g/1lb apples, peeled, cored and cut into 1cm/½in pieces (see recipe tip)
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50g/2oz brown sugar
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squeeze of lemon juice (this stops the apple from turning brown)
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optional pinch of ground cinnamon
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1 tbsp plain flour
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1 pinch ground cinnamon
Pre-heat the oven to 200°C, fan 180°C, gas mark 6.
Take butter out of the fridge, cut into cubes, and leave to soften slightly.
Peel and core the apples, then cut them into large chunks and place them in a large saucepan filled with water and a squeeze of lemon juice. This slows down the process of oxidisation.
When all of your apples are peeled, drain the water from the saucepan, then add your sugar, a splash of water, and cinnamon if using it. Cook gently for around five minutes to soften not turn mushy, making sure not to catch the apple on the bottom of the pan. Add a splash of more water if necessary. Pour into a large baking dish.
Place the cubed butter and flour in a bowl, and gently rub them together with the tips of your fingers until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.
Stir in sugar, then spoon the mix into the dish, over the stewed apples.
Crumble smells so good baking in the oven, you might be tempted to take it out before it's ready, but it needs a good 35-40 mins, or until the crumble is golden brown and the fruit juice is bubbling up slightly around the edges.
Take out of the oven and place on a heat-proof surface. Serve in bowls with creamy hot custard or vanilla icecream.
While apple may be the classic crumble, the possibilities are endless and change with the seasons; think apple, blackberries, peaches, pears, plums, rhubarb, quince, gooseberries....and any combo of the above!
You can also add spicing- try a sprinkle of cinnamon over your stewed apple, chai powder partnered with plum, chunks of stem ginger with rhubarb, or star anise poached pears.
Some folk add a splash of booze to their fruit; a capful of bourbon adds a warming kick to peach, Calvados brings caramelly sweetness to apples and pears, whilst rum is a heavenly match for plums.
The topping is another area you can get creative with....the standard crumble topping is made with butter, sugar and flour, but, you can add oats, semolina, crumbled biscuits (especially amaretti), chunks of chocolate, desiccated coconut, a spoonful of peanut butter, all manner of seeds and nuts.
And if delicious stewed/ baked fruit isn't your thing, maybe a savoury crumble is? We love chunky root veg and squashes roasted with thyme and garlic, or shredded ham hock, mixed with leek, and carrot, topped with a golden, crispy crumble, minus the sugar. It's healthy, filling, warming; everything you want from an autumnal supper.
So, are you ready to CRUMBLE?!?!?!?
If you feel so inclined to whip up a crumble- sweet or savoury- after reading this post, make sure to share it on your socials, tagging The Stamford Foodie with it; or get a conversation started with fellow foodies by sharing it on the Stamford Foodie Community page.
'til next time,
The Stamford Foodie.
