Apple and Blackberry Crumble
When your friends and family come over to your place for dinner, you want to impress them with your cooking skills and prepare some pretty-to-look-at and delicious meals.
As people say, “Dessert is for the heart and not for the stomach” and they are right! How many times have you heard, or said, “I’m full” but then eat dessert? The truth is dessert is the perfect way to finish dinner and you should not skip it.
And what is that one dessert that is so common but never goes wrong, is tasty and easy to make? Apple and Blackberry Crumble, of course.
If you’ve just escaped from your alien abduction and didn’t know, apple and blackberry crumble is made in both sweet and savoury versions. The savoury version is made with meat or vegetables, sauce, and cheese, and can be served with vegetables But, for the sweet version, produced usually with stewed fruits, you have many more side’s options to choose from. That includes ice cream, yoghurt, whipped cream, or custard. Either way, the crumble is baked in the oven until the topping gets crisp.
Within the sweet version of crumble, the apple one is the most popular. But you can add more than one fruit ingredient for a delicious duo. You can mix apple with blueberries, blackberries, plums, pears, and so much more. However, one of the best combinations is apple and blackberry crumble.
Besides being a great dessert, apple and blackberry crumble is a fast recipe to make.
As it happens with almost any recipe, there are tons of different ways to make an Apple Crumble. Choose the one that best suits you and maybe one day you will create your own. For now, though, take a look at these amazing 3 different ways to prepare apple and blackberry crumble.
Option 1: Bramley Apple and Blackberry Crumble
Ingredients
For the topping:
6 ¼ ounces plain flour
5 ¼ ounces caster sugar
1 TSP salt
4 ounces cold butter cut into cubes.
¾ cup flaked almonds, toasted
For the fruit filling:
3 (250g) punnets of blackberries
(fresh or frozen)
2 large Bramley apples, peeled and sliced
5 ¼ ounces caster sugar
2 TBS cornflour
½ TSP salt
1 TBS peach schnapps
Method
Start by placing the flour and sugar into a large bowl and then the butter. Mix it well until the mixture becomes crumbled. Add salt and the flaked almonds.
In another bowl, put the apples together with the blackberries. Stick the sugar, cornflour and, again, salt. Then sprinkle the peach schnapps over top. Mix it all with your bare hands. After mixing, spread the composition into your chosen baking pan.
Add the crumb mixture on top of the fruit on the baking pan. Do it gently to cover the fruits completely and try not to break up the almonds too much.
Bake your dessert for 45 to 55 minutes at 205C/ Gas Mark 6 until you notice the topping getting a brown golden colour and the fruit is bubbling.
Remove from the oven and let it cool off for about 30 minutes. Before serving don’t forget to add some custard and whipped cream and enjoy it!
Option 2: Apple and Blackberry Crumble (Pavlova influence)
Ingredients
For the Meringue:
3 large free range egg whites
6 ounces caster sugar (a scant cup)
1 TSP cornflour
1 TSP white wine vinegar
For the Filling:
3 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and sliced
2 TBSP butter
2 TBSP soft light brown sugar, packed
½ TSP ground cinnamon
¼ TSP freshly grated nutmeg
1 (50g) punnet of blackberries
300ml of double cream
For the sugared almond topping:
½ ounces (40g) flaked almonds
2 TBSP caster sugar
Method
Start by heating the oven at 130C/ Gas Mark ½.
Put a baking paper on your baking pan and set it aside.
Place the egg whites into a glass or metal bowl. Beat with an electric mixer until it gets a soft form. Add half of the sugar and continue to beat until the egg whites look foamy and glossy. Slowly add the rest of the sugar until it’s all blended.
Add the cornflour and the vinegar and beat it for about one minute.
Spread the mixture into the baking tray with a metal spoon to avoid blank spaces. Take it to the oven and let it bake for about one hour until the topping gets a crispy look.
Let it cool for half an hour and then put the meringue on a plate.
Start preparing the filling while you wait for the meringue to cool off.
Take the apples, butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt and mix them all together in a skillet. Cook it until the apples get soft and caramelized. Add the blackberries and set them aside for them to cool off.
For the last step, prepared the sugared almond topping by placing the almonds into a skillet together with the sugar. Cook it over medium-high heat until the sugar melts and begins to cover the almonds. This will take about two to three minutes. But be careful to not let the sugar burn.
Spread the topping into the meringue, adding the apple and blackberry mixture and is ready to serve!
Option 3: Apple and Blackberry Crumble featuring Acacia Honey
Ingredients
2 large apples, peeled, cored and sliced
284g can blackberry in fruit juice
2 TBSP (30ml) water
2 TBSP (30ml) acacia honey
½ ounces (40g) plain flour
½ ounces (40g) wholemeal flour
1 ounce (25g) oats
2 ounces (60g) olive oil margarine
2 ounces (60g) flaked almonds
½ ounces (40g) brown sugar
Method
Pre-heat the oven to 190C/ Gas Mark 5.
Put the prepared apples, blackberries and their juice and water into a baking pan and stir in the honey.
For the topping, put the flours and oats in a bowl and rub in the margarine until the mixture looks like coarse breadcrumbs. Mix in the almonds and sugar. Alternatively, use an electric mixer.
Spread the crumble mixture over the fruit and bake in the oven for 25-30 mins until the topping is lightly golden.
Add a sprinkle of ginger, cinnamon or nutmeg to give this crumble even more flavour and enjoy apple and blackberry crumble
