Tell me about your crumble recipes

[Strathyre]

My and my DH disagree about almost every aspect of making an apple crumble. So I'm interested to see how other families make them (and not just out to win an argument, honest!). So, how do you make them?

Sugar - dark brown, Caster, or something in between or a mix?

Oats, and if so in what proportion?

Do you do the breadcrumbs method or use soft butter and mix in to the flour and sugar?

Deep (in basically like a casserole dish) or wide and spread out?

Neither of us do nuts and seeds but I have had them in restaurants ... anyone?

I went to a restaurant last winter where I'm sure they cooked the crumb mix separate to the fruit and sprinkled it on top just before serving. I'm a convert now and only use this method now. The top stays crispy and toasted 😋

I blend the flour, white sugar and butter to a crumb stage with fingers. I also add oats, desiccated coconut and flaked almonds- or whatever I have on hand. Grill or oven bake the topping, moving it around till all is slightly brown and not overcooked. Just add to the fruit when serving.

Edit- I don't measure anything just throw in what I feel is correct, but there are many recipes if you an exact guide.

Dark sugar, definitely.
And oats - I never weigh them though.
And ground almonds.
I'd say all three in roughly equal proportions.

Also blind bake the flan base.
Then sprinkle with chopped almonds before adding the apples/sugar.
Walnuts or cashew would work too.

Flan base? With a crumble?
I like it baked on top of the fruit as I like the soggy bit between the fruit & crumble.

Also blind bake the flan base

Sorry the flan base?!

I breadcrumb the butter and flour, add oats and caster sugar in the mix itself and then sprinkle liberally with brown sugar before putting in the oven.

I do not make a flan base. That is clearly a pie.

There’s cinnamon in mine; I’m sure I’m minutes from having my citizenship revoked.

The secret I have found is to rub the butter into the flour and demerara sugar until it starts clumping together. Makes a lovely crunchy topping. It works every time and my family love it.

(for quantities I generally follow an old "good housekeeping" recipe, which I'm too comfy on the sofa to look out.)

I like to cook the topping separately and then assemble then give it another 10 min in the oven. That way it's much more crisp and crumbly, and I like a lot of topping

Butter, flour and Demerara sugar. Maybe a pinch of salt. Nothing else. Rub it in. Sprinkle a bit of sugar on top. Exactly like my grandma made.

Always use brown unrefined sugar. Oats, ground almonds , coconut and sometimes seeds. I often use coconut oil instead of butter too.

Brown sugar, but cook the crumble mix separately. It makes the world of difference.

I add cinnamon to my apples - and a bit to my crumble topping - which contains, nuts, seeds, oats, butter and flour. I love it to be a crunchy crumble topping with plenty of fruit. A good crumble is perfect in winter.

I add oats. I cook it on top of the fruit, as like a pp, I love the squishy bit where fruit meets crumble.
And with custard. Not ice-cream. Hot custard.

I use a Raymond Blanc recipe and cook the topping separately, it works perfectly

Apologies. The Thanksgiving eggnog must have got (gotten??!!!) to me. Sometimes I forget which country I'm in... 👻

I am going to try baking the crumble seperately.

Agree re custard.

Also agree re cinnamon.

I also put a hint of clove in apple crumble.

And finally - cold pouring cream over the hot crumble is wonderful too!

How do you cook the crumble separately? Do you cook the apples in the oven with a bit of water ( like stewing them) and cook the crumble mix in a different dish? Then add the crumble mix to the fruit? Does that not make the crumble a bit solid ie like a cookie as the fat melts?

I fancy trying it but can’t quite imagine how to do it!

According to my granny:

Twice flour to fat, rubbed to breadcrumbs, one third sugar and stir.
3/4 apples from the 2nd tree, peel core, slice, sugar to sweeten.
Use Mae’s dish.

Not sure what she’d have made of all this talk of oats, nuts and flan bases

In the Raymond Blanc recipe you cook them in a pan on the hob and then at the same time cook the topping. Then combine. I put them in individual pots and put them in the fridge or freezer and then warm them up one at a time.

It doesn’t solidify but it isn’t in the oven long and I go over mine with a fork as soon as it’s out of the oven to keep it quite fine.

I use a rectangular glass or ceramic dish, deeper than a flan dish but shallower than my casserole dish. Bramley cooking apples that are tart and collapse down to a purée on cooking. The topping I use a stand mixer with a paddle attachment and mix together 200g butter with 225g plain flour until it starts to clump. I add up to 50g brown sugar (sometimes I don't add any though as I like it sour/tart rather than sweet). Sometimes I add ground almonds and sometimes I add cinnamon or ground ginger - depends what I fancy. If I'm adding oats I sprinkle a layer directly over the fruit, I usually only do this with wetter ingredients though so not usually in apple crumble, and always in plum crumble. Then the crumble mix goes on the top and into a low oven until golden and bubbly - yum yum yum! My favourite winter pud!

Rub flour and butter into breadcrumbs. Stir in Demerara or Muscavado sugar and chopped nuts - almond , cashews, walnuts - whatever is handy except pistachios or peanuts (🤮) very roughly chopped. Good pinch of cinnamon or nutmeg.. sprinkle on top of partially cooked apples or better yet, vanilla cooked plums. About 1 inch deep topping. Bake at 190c , about 25 mins.
Cold cream, ice cream to top.

I love love love apple crumble, and rhubarb for its sourness and happy colour.
But sometimes I think umm cherry, peach, apple and blackcurrant. I think the fruit needs a punchy flavour, has anyone got any suggestions and tried and tested combinations? TIA

A few chunks of marzipan in with the apples makes it rather lovely 😍

Oats, nuts and seeds all ruin a good, proper crumble imo