Apple Cinnamon Crumble
Soft, spiced apples under a thick, buttery oat topping. The kind of pudding that makes a Sunday roast feel finished.
A good crumble is mostly about the topping. Too thin and it might as well be stewed apples. This version is thick, rubbly, and has enough oats to give a proper crunch on top of the soft fruit.
Mixing the apples — a couple of sharp ones with a couple of sweet ones — gives a much more interesting filling than using just one variety.
Ingredients
Filling
- 6 medium apples (mix of Bramley and Braeburn or similar), peeled and chopped
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon plain flour
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- Squeeze of lemon juice
Topping
- 150g (1¼ cups) plain flour
- 100g (1 cup) rolled oats
- 100g (½ cup) light brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- Pinch of salt
- 150g (⅔ cup) cold unsalted butter, cubed
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 190°C (375°F).
- Toss the apples with the brown sugar, flour, cinnamon and lemon juice in a 23cm baking dish.
- In a bowl, mix the flour, oats, sugar, cinnamon and salt. Rub in the cold butter with your fingertips until the mixture clumps together in rubbly pieces.
- Scatter the topping evenly over the apples, leaving a few gaps for steam to escape.
- Bake for 35–40 minutes, until the topping is deep golden and the filling is bubbling at the edges.
- Rest for 10 minutes before serving with cream, custard or vanilla ice cream.
Cooking tips
- Cold butter is essential for proper rubble. Soft butter makes a paste, not a crumble.
- Don't peel the apples too thinly — leaving a little texture gives a better bite.
- Make the topping in bulk and freeze in a bag. You can sprinkle it straight from frozen onto fruit and bake.
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