Queen of Crumble
I was going to call it 'king of crumble' but that accolade is reserved for rhubarb in my kitchen. Apple crumble comes a close second though. To be fair, anything fruity and crumbly is a winner, obviously as long as it's served with thick custard.
When it comes to the topping, I don't mess about with oats or nuts, call me a purist but I like to keep it simple with flour, sugar and butter. Lots of it.
For the filling less is more. Some cooking apples, acidic juice to prevent oxidisation, sugar and a pinch of cinnamon and it's good to go. On this occasion, I also added some rhubarb powder to the apples for some extra deliciousness after all rhubarb loves apples, apples love rhubarb.
Now rhubarb powder is not something I've ever seen in the shops but I used to have an allotment which generated more rhubarb than I could eat, make jam out of or give away. One of the solutions to this was to dehydrate it and then grind it.
I like loads of crumble topping and for years I would make some then realise it wasn't enough, then make some more.
As I have many different sizes of baking dish, there is no reliable quantity to go by, then one day I had my eureka moment.
Top tip # 1
Make the crumble topping in the dish that you are going to use. Add enough flour to cover the bottom of the dish to about a centimetre. Weigh the flour then add half the weight butter and golden caster sugar (any light sugar will do really) and the same in soft butter.
It's a really quick dessert to make befitting of any table after a Sunday roast.
This recipe served 4 adults and 4 small(ish) children.
Stage 1 - The topping
Following my top tip, work with this ratio:
2 parts plain flour
1 part golden caster sugar
1 part butter.
Rub it all together until you have a crumbly sandy texture. I'm not precious about cold or room temperature butter, just get rubbing. Also, don't worry about lumps.
Stage 2 - The filling
In a bowl, add:
1/2 tsp cinnamon
Juice of a lemon, lime or orange (whatever is to hand)
2 tsp golden caster sugar
2 tsp rhubarb powder (This is far from essential!)
3 cooking apples, cored, peeled and sliced 5-10mm
thick.
Mix it all up so the apple slices are good and covered.
Stage 3 - Assemble
Add the apples to your dish, press down so they are roughly level then add the crumble topping. Press it all down lightly and it can sit on the side until it ready to go in the oven.
Stage 4 -Stick it in the oven
Cook at 180 degrees C for about 25-30 minutes or until the topping starts to crack and has turned a nice golden colour.
Top tip # 2
Like any crumble, leave it 5-10 minutes before serving (whilst you do the custard) so that when you bring it to the table it's inner temperature has reduced from solar levels.
