Are you all mince pied out yet? Do you want to make something different with mincemeat? Or do you have just a little bit left over at the bottom of the jar and you are not quite sure what to do with it? Why not make my Easy Mincemeat and Apple Crumble. It’s a super simple pudding to make, is a great way of using up the last of a jar of mincemeat and tastes soooo good!
What to do with the rest of a jar of mincemeat?
I really do love apple crumble. Not only does it taste delicious, but it’s so quick and simple to whip up, is pretty cheap to make and the kids absolutely love it. I also absolutely adore mince pies and make loads at this time of the year, but inevitably I end up with a little bit of mincemeat left over.
This Mincemeat and Apple Crumble recipe came about because I had a bit at the bottom of the jar of mincemeat after making my easy peasy mini mince pies with the kids and wondered what to do with it. It suddenly dawned on me that it would be the perfect thing to add to an apple crumble – after all dried fruit, sugar and spices are the sorts of things that get added to a crumble anyway. Plus adding mincemeat elevates the humble crumble into something wonderfully festive, yet still super easy.
An alternative to Christmas pudding?
In fact, if you fancied something really easy peasy but still a bit festive, this could work as pudding on Christmas Day itself, especially if you or your family aren’t big fans of Christmas pudding or if you just fancy doing something a bit more familiar.
How to get the best crumble topping…
This recipe features my standard crumble mix, developed over many years of trial and error: I use 200g plain white flour, 100g butter and 100g soft, light brown sugar (US measurements given in the recipe card below). You can make the crumble topping with white sugar but for me the soft brown sugar makes a much better crumble texture – much more crumbly and less biscuity – and the taste is just fabulous!
I always make my crumbles by hand, using the rubbing in method (see the recipe card for details), but crumble can also be made in a food processor by pulsing the butter and flour together to make a coarse breadcrumb texture, then adding in the sugar. However, I think part of the charm of a good crumble is that rough and ready, made-by-hand texture. It always seems a bit too perfect when made in a food processor! If you don’t fancy doing the rubbing in yourself, you could always try and find a small child to do it. My kids absolutely love doing this for me!
How much mincemeat?
The quantity of mincemeat in this recipe is very rough and ready. I used 4 tablespoons because that’s what I had left in the jar. But really the quantity is very flexible – a bit more or less would work just fine! I didn’t add any extra sugar as, for me, the mincemeat contains enough sugar to take the edge off the sharpness of the cooking apples. But if you have a sweeter tooth than me, you could always add a tablespoon of soft brown sugar into the apples and mincemeat mix for a touch of extra sweetness.
No leftover mincemeat?
If you don’t have any leftover mincemeat, this crumble still tastes good without mincemeat, just a little less Christmassy. To jazz it up a bit you could always add a teaspoon of cinnamon or mixed spice, and/or a few cloves to give it that festive feel! A small handful of dried fruit would also work well.
What to serve with crumble?
Crumble always goes well with any of the following:
- Custard
- Vanilla Ice Cream
- Cream
- Yogurt
But since this is a Christmas crumble… why not push the boat out and serve it with brandy butter, or my personal favourite: brandy cream!
Can you reheat leftover crumble?
Crumble tastes amazing the next day! You can either eat it cold or reheat it. I reheat mine by turning the oven on to 200C (180C fan / gas mark 6 / 400F) and putting the crumble in straight away (i.e. don’t wait for the oven to heat up). I give it 15-20 minutes and it is perfect. You can repeat this procedure a second day too (in the unlikely situation that you have any left, that is!)
Can you freeze crumble?
Yes! You can freeze crumble. Once baked and cooled, put the crumble in an airtight container and place it in your freezer. Crumble will keep for up to 3 months if stored correctly.
Defrost at room temperature for a few hours then eat cold or reheat as above.
If you like this recipe…
…you might also like:
Mincemeat and Apple Crumble
Ingredients
- 200 g plain white flour (US - all purpose flour)
- 100 g cold butter cut into roughly 1cm cubes
- 100 g soft light brown sugar
- 1 kg cooking apples peeled, cores removed and chopped into small pieces
- 4 tablespoons mincemeat (roughly - it's fine to use a little more or less!)
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 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 square – 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 4 tablespoons of mincemeat. Stir together the apples and the mincemeat until the apples are evenly coated in mincemeat and the dried fruit is fairly evenly distributed.
- 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 or ice cream... or, if you want to make this even more festive, brandy butter / brandy cream!
Notes
Pin Mincemeat and Apple Crumble for later
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Vicki Montague - The Free From Fairy says
My mum always used to make this after Christmas! I love it!
Eb Gargano says
Thanks, Vicki! It’s such a great way to use up leftover mincemeat after Christmas, isn’t it? Eb x
Only Crumbs Remain / Angela says
I love crumble – it’s probably one of my most favourite desserts and your idea of including sweet mincemeat in the equation is brilliant! It must have tasted divine!
Angela x
Eb Gargano says
Thanks, Angela! Crumble is definitely one of my favourites too – so tasty, yet really very easy!! It did taste pretty good. My little boy (who loves crumble and mince pies) could not get enough!! He even finished his sister’s bowlful off! Eb x
Charlotte Oates says
My husband loves apple pie and he loves mincemeat so I’m pretty sure he would adore this.
I always prefer to make crumble by hand too, I’d much prefer to spend a few minutes rubbing the ingredients together by hand than doing it quickly in the food processor and then spending then time I saved (plus a bit more) washing the stupid machine up. I can’t fully trust my boys to do it for me yet, they tend to start well but get distracted when it’s still mostly lumps.
Eb Gargano says
Thanks, Charlotte! My husband was pretty keen on this one, but it was my little boy who loved it the most. He hoovered up firsts and seconds and even finished off his sister’s portion!
Hahaha! Yes, good point about the washing up! For some reason, my kids are freakishly good at rubbing in. Probably because they’ve been doing it since they were about 2! They do it together in the same bowl (there’s a picture in my star biscuits post) and believe it or not they don’t actually get much flour on the table! They absolutely love doing it too, bless them. Whenever we start to make a recipe I’m always asked “can we do the rubbing in?”
Thanks for commenting.
Eb x
Sarah (@tamingtwins) says
I’ve absolutely loved reading your leftovers posts tonight. Thanks so much for sharing, super inspiring to encourage no waste at this over indulgent time of year. This looks delicious!
Eb Gargano says
Aw, thanks Sarah…I’ve had so much fun developing/testing/writing them…and there will be another 3 leftovers recipes this week if you need any further inspiration 🙂 Eb x
Kirsty Hijacked By Twins says
You cannot beat a good old crumble with loads of custard! Mmmm delicious. Thank you for sharing with #CookBlogShare, wishing you a very merry Christmas and a happy, healthy new year x
Eb Gargano says
Thanks, Kirsty – I totally agree. It reminds me of being a child – only now I can make crumble as often as I want 🙂 Happy Christmas to you too! Eb x
Corina says
I love crumble and this is a great way to use up some of that leftover mincemeat. I find making crumble by hand quite relaxing and my little girl loves to help too. Thank you so much for linking up with #CookOnceEatTwice
Eb Gargano says
Thanks Corina. I totally agree about making crumble by hand being relaxing – I love that kind of laid back stress-free easy (peasy) baking 🙂 Having said that I don’t usually find it quite so relaxing when my kids want to help!! 🙂 Eb x
Louise Fairweather says
Oh this looks great – my boys would scoff the lot! Thanks for sharing #cookblogshare
Eb Gargano says
Thanks Louise! That’s good to hear 😀