Easy Apple and Blackberry Crumble

5 from 4 votes

Easy Apple and Blackberry Crumble

A British dessert classic – and for good reason! This Easy Apple and Blackberry Crumble features deliciously tangy Bramley apples, juicy blackberries and a perfectly light and crisp crumble topping. (Can be made with fresh or frozen blackberries.)

Course Dessert, Pudding

Cuisine British

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 30

Total Time 45

Servings people

Calories 297kcal

Author Eb Gargano

Ingredients

200 g plain white flour AKA all-purpose flour
100 g cold butter cut into 1cm / ½inch cubes (see Note 1)
100 g soft light brown sugar (see Note 2)
750 g Bramley apples (AKA cooking apples) peeled, cores removed and chopped into small pieces (see Note 3)
250 g fresh blackberries (or frozen blackberries – defrost first before continuing with the recipe)
1 tablespoon soft light brown sugar or to taste

Metric - US Customary

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 200C / 180C fan / gas mark 6 / 400F.
Place the flour and cubed butter in a large bowl and rub together until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs (or do this in a food processor if you prefer – see Note 4).
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 topping mixture to one side while you prepare the filling.
Peel the apples, remove the cores and then chop into bite-sized pieces – roughly 1cm / ½inch cubes.
Place the apple pieces and blackberries into the dish you are planning to cook the crumble in. Stir 1-2 tablespoons of light brown sugar into the fruit (or however much sugar gives you a good balance of tart/sweet for your tastes). Mix together so the apples, blackberries and sugar are well combined, then spread out into a flat layer in the dish.
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 your preheated oven for 30-40 minutes or until it is golden on top, and the fruit is bubbling. Serve with custard, cream, ice cream or yogurt.

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.
You can use a food processor to rub the butter and flour together, if you prefer. However, you will get a far better result if you do this by hand!
Suitable for freezing.
Nutrition information is approximate and meant as a guideline only.

Nutrition