You really can’t beat a classic! This Easy Peasy Apple Crumble is quick, simple and virtually foolproof – giving you perfect apple crumble every time!
This blog post contains affiliate links, this means if you click on a link and go on to buy the product I recommend, I will get a small commission, but you will not be charged a penny more – thanks in advance!
Easy Peasy Apple Crumble
What is your favourite dessert? One of mine is most definitely apple crumble. I love it for 2 reasons: Firstly, it’s delicious – a crowdpleasing banker of a dessert! And secondly, it is super easy… perfect for when time is short and you just don’t have the time or the energy to faff about with anything complicated!
It really couldn’t be simpler… just rub together flour and butter, stir in some sugar, prep the apples, then place the apples in a dish and top with the crumble mix. Finally, pop it in the oven and it’s done to perfection in just 40 minutes.
As a bonus, it will make your house smell amazing!
Best apples for apple crumble
Hands down the best apples for apple crumble are Bramley apples, often known as ‘cooking apples’. These apples are tarter than normal apples, but have bags more flavour. Don’t make the mistake of using normal ‘eating’ apples in a crumble – the flavour will diminish in the cooking process, giving you a rather insipid and lacklustre crumble!
Adaptations to apple crumble
I love a simple apple crumble, with just a touch of cinnamon to enhance the flavour of the apples and small amount of brown sugar to offset the tartness of Bramley apples. But there are so many adaptations you could try. For example:
- Add a handful of fresh blackberries and/or raspberries and/or blackcurrants
- Add a couple of handfuls of frozen mixed berries
- Add a handful of dried fruit (for example sultanas, raisins or currants)
- Add mincemeat to make Apple and Mincemeat Crumble
- Use cloves instead of (or as well as) the cinnamon
- Use mixed spice or pumpkin spice instead of the cinnamon
- Use white sugar instead of brown
- Use dark soft brown sugar instead of light
- Swap half (or all) the flour for the same quantity of porridge oats
- Swap half (or all) the white flour for the same quantity of wholemeal flour
- Make the topping dairy free and gluten free, as per this recipe
What to serve with apple crumble…
Personally, I like to keep things traditional and serve good old-fashioned Bird’s Custard* with apple crumble – just the way I had it when I was a child. However, apple crumble also goes brilliantly with cream (I like the extra thick double cream!), ice cream… or even yogurt!
What to drink with apple crumble
If you’re keeping things traditional, then you can’t go wrong with a cup of tea or coffee! But if (like me!) you are a fan of dessert wines, then apple crumble is very wine friendly and goes brilliantly with Sauternes (or similar sweet wines from Bordeaux), Chenin-based dessert wines from the Loire – such as Coteaux du Layon or late harvest (spätlese) Rieslings from Germany.
What to do with leftover apple crumble?
Leftover apple crumble keeps brilliantly! Just cover any leftovers (or transfer them to a lidded container) and pop it in the fridge, where it will keep for up to 4 days.
Either eat your leftover apple crumble cold, or reheat in an oven set to 180C (160C fan / gas mark 4 / 350F) for 10-15 minutes – or until piping hot all the way through. (You can also reheat apple crumble in the microwave, if you prefer!)
If you are not able to eat the leftovers straight away, apple crumble also freezes brilliantly…
Can you freeze apple crumble?
Absolutely! Apple crumble freezes really well. Simply transfer the apple crumble to a lidded container and place in the freezer, where it will keep for up to 6 months.
Defrost overnight in the fridge and reheat as above.
If you like this recipe…
…you might also like:
Easy Peasy Apple Crumble
Ingredients
- 200 g plain white flour (US - all purpose flour)
- 100 g cold butter cut into roughly 1cm cubes (see Note 1)
- 100 g soft light brown sugar (see Note 2)
- 1 kg cooking apples peeled, cores removed and chopped into small pieces (see Note 3)
- 1 tablespoon soft light brown sugar or to taste
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon or to taste (optional – leave the cinnamon out if you are not a fan!)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 200C /180C fan / gas mark 6 / 400F.
- Put the flour and butter in a large bowl and rub together until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs (or do this in a food processor if you prefer).
- Add the 100 g soft light brown sugar and stir. (There is no need to sieve the flour or sugar, as a bit of a rough texture is what is needed for a good crumble!)
- Set the crumble mixture to one side and prepare the apples. Peel them, remove the cores and then chop into bite-sized pieces – roughly 1cm / ½inch cubes – but it doesn’t matter too much, actually a mixture of smaller and larger pieces is quite nice.
- Put the apples in the dish you are planning to use to cook the crumble and add 1 tablespoon of soft light brown sugar and 1 teaspoon of cinnamon. Stir together the apples, the sugar and the cinnamon until the apples are evenly coated.
- Sprinkle over the crumble topping – this can be quite rough and ready, but make sure all the fruit is covered. If it looks a bit too neat on top, rough it up a bit. You want lots of peaks and troughs to give it that really good crumble texture.
- Put your crumble in the preheated oven for 40 minutes or until it is golden on top, and the fruit is bubbling. Serve with custard, cream, ice cream or yogurt.
Video
Notes
- You can use margarine if you prefer, but personally I find the flavour and texture far better with butter.
- You can use white sugar if you prefer, but I find the flavour and texture far better with light soft brown sugar. For a more caramelized / smoky taste, you could use dark soft brown sugar or muscovado sugar!
- Make sure you use Bramley apples / cooking apples. 'Eating' apples tend not to have enough flavour when cooked, resulting in a dull and lacklustre crumble.
- Suitable for freezing.
- Nutrition information is approximate and meant as a guideline only.
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Disclosure
*This blog post contains affiliate links, this means if you click on a link and go on to buy the product I recommend, I will get a small commission, but you will not be charged a penny more – thanks in advance!
Choclette says
You can’t beat apple crumble. Well maybe blackberry and apple crumble, but it would be hard to make a decision on that one. As soon as autumn comes along my thoughts turn to crumble and it looks as though yours might have done that too. Delicious.
Eb Gargano says
Aaah yes! I totally agree with you… if anything can beat apple crumble, it’s apple and blackberry crumble – but it’s a hard call! Eb 🙂
Tricia Beazley says
Hi Eb, our thoughts had been turning towards apple crumble today, so was delighted to have your email come through this morning. Thank you! Yes, and I love custard with mine….can’t wait to bake it.
Eb Gargano says
Yay! I am so happy to hear that. Let me know how it goes! Eb 🙂
Janice says
I’m craving apple crumble now! Such a lovely dessert and so easy to make.
Eb Gargano says
Aw, that’s good to hear – thanks Janice! 😀
Cat | Curly's Cooking says
You can’t beat a good apple crumble. One of my favourite desserts with lots of cream!
Eb Gargano says
I quite agree! Eb 🙂
Rebecca - Glutarama says
You simply cannot beat the old favourites. Despite looking so simple it can be difficult to get the ratios right so this is a wonderful recipe to have in my collection.
Eb Gargano says
Aw, thanks Rebecca – so pleased you like it! Eb 🙂
Sandhya Hariharan says
Simply delicious! I cannot resist apple crumble ☺️
Eb Gargano says
Aw thanks! Me neither 😀
Sisley White - Sew White says
I adore crumble and I will take it any day of the week! I love how easy it is!
Eb Gargano says
Thanks, Sisley – and yes, such an easy pud!
Kurstey says
This recipe is brilliant! I doubled the quantities and made my son in law and family one ! Fabulous thank you ‘
Eb Gargano says
Aw – yay, that’s so great to hear! Thank you for this lovely review and especially the 5* rating 😀