Which apples should I use?

Bramley: a cooking apple that retains a slight tartness when cooked and has a lovely soft melt-in-the-mouth texture. I love these in crumble but know that they are not easy to get hold of outside of the UK. Granny S mith: these are great all-rounders and a solid choice for crumble in my opinion. They also have a slight tartness that works well in crumble. They are not quite as soft as Bramley and will retain their form more after they have baked in the oven. Other apples: Ordinary eating apples like Braeburn or Pink Lady will be sweeter than Bramley and Granny Smith apples but will still taste good. Crumble is a great dish to make if you have a bunch of apples that you need to use up.

How do I ensure the crumble is crisp?

There are two key factors here. The first is having the correct ratio of butter to flour in the topping. The second is how you work the mixture together. Start working with the butter and flour alone until you get the consistency you want before adding in the sugar, lemon zest and other seasonings. If I add nuts I always add them on the top rather than mixing them into the crumble topping as they can interfere with the consistency. You should work the mixture until you get a crumbly but chunky texture. I form the mixture into balls and let them break away naturally into crumbly chunks. I also continue this technique when I assemble the crumble to ensure any small crumbs are pushed into chunks.

How do I know when the crumble is ready?

After 40 minutes in the oven at 180°C or 300°F the topping will be slightly brown and you should see molten sugar/stem ginger juice bubbling around the edges. This means it's ready. Leave it for a few minutes to cool slightly before eating to avoid scalding your mouth.

Ginger Spiced Apple Crumble

Name: Ginger Spiced Apple Crumble
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 40 min
Total time: 1 h
Yield: 6
Cuisine: Western
Ingredients: 6 balls of stem ginger; 5-6 Bramley or Granny Smith Apples - cored, peeled and chopped. (This should yield a net weight of 500g or 17oz) (note 1); 1 lemon - juice; 1/2 tsp cinnamon; 60g (or 1/3 cup) brown sugar; 1/4 tsp ground cloves; 140g (or 1 cup + 2.5 tbsp) plain flour; 80g cold butter (or 1/3 cup) - cut into 1cm cubes; 60g (or 1/3 cup) brown sugar; Finely chopped zest from half a lemon; 1/2 tsp ground ginger; A small handful of nuts (optional); Custard, cream or ice cream (optional)

Description

Soft and caramelly baked apples underneath a perfectly crisp topping. Stem ginger and cinnamon and a small pinch of ground cloves give the crumble filling a warming winter spice flavour.

Serves 6. Use the scaling buttons below to double or triple the quantity.

Ingredients

Scale

Crumble filling:

6 balls of stem ginger
5-6 Bramley or Granny Smith Apples - cored, peeled and chopped. (This should yield a net weight of 500g or 17oz) (note 1)
1 lemon - juice
1/2 tsp cinnamon
60g (or 1/3 cup) brown sugar
1/4 tsp ground cloves

Crumble Topping:

140g (or 1 cup + 2.5 tbsp) plain flour
80g cold butter (or 1/3 cup) - cut into 1cm cubes
60g (or 1/3 cup) brown sugar
Finely chopped zest from half a lemon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
A small handful of nuts (optional)

To serve:

Custard, cream or ice cream (optional)

Instructions

Crumble filling:

Heat your oven to 180°C or 300°F.
Blitz the stem ginger quickly in a food processor until it is broken down into very small pieces. (note 2)
Place the stem ginger and all the other filling ingredients into a bowl and mix them using your hands until they are fully incorporated.
Place the filling into a baking dish and set aside.

Crumble topping:

Put the flour and butter into a bowl and rub them together using your hands until the mixture has a crumbly but chunky consistency.
Add the sugar, lemon zest and ground ginger and gently work them into the mixture. (note 3)
Add the topping to the dish with the crumble filling. (note 4)
Scatter chopped nuts on the top if using
Bake in the middle of your oven for 40 minutes
Serve with custard, cream or ice cream

Notes

Cut the apples into roughly 1.5cm x 1.5 cm pieces.
Be careful not to overdo this step. The result should be small pieces, stop well before you get a puree.
Try to avoid over-working the mixture at this point. You want it to hold its consistency after the sugar is added.
I recommend forming the crumble topping into balls before placing it on top of the filling and letting them naturally crumble into chunks to ensure any very small crumb pieces are lumped together into bigger chunks.

Category: sweet
Cuisine: Western

Nutrition

Serving Size: 1
Calories: 367
Sugar: 48g
Sodium: 66mg
Fat: 8g
Saturated Fat: 5g
Unsaturated Fat: 0g
Trans Fat: 0g
Carbohydrates: 74g
Fiber: 5g
Protein: 2g
Cholesterol: 25mg

Keywords: spiced apple crumble