Classic Apple Crumble
A classic apple crumble that’s delicious & comforting! The flavour of this dessert is next level & it goes great with a scoop of ice cream.
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A good apple crumble is hard to beat & is easily one of my favourite desserts!
We’re making this one the classic way! The fruit’s stewed in some warming spices, vanilla & sugar and the topping’s crisp, sweet & oaty. We’re also cooking the apples in brown butter for even more flavour! This apple crumble is super easy to make & comes together in no time at all. It’s a real winner!
What Is Apple Crumble?
Apple crumble is a classic British dessert!
Here, a tender, lightly spiced stewed fruit filling is topped with a crisp crumble topping (this is similar to a streusel). This is perhaps the ultimate comfort food & works perfectly with a scoop of homemade vanilla ice cream, warm custard or pouring cream.
What You’ll Need
- Apples – To make apple crumble, you’ll either need to use cooking apples or a mix of cooking & eating apples. I’d recommend using either bramley apples (the classic choice!), granny smiths or braeburns.
- Butter – We’re using unsalted butter for our classic apple crumble. Cold, diced butter for the topping & browned butter for the filling.
- Sugar – We need different three types of sugar for this recipe. There’s caster sugar in the filling & demerara and light brown sugar in the topping. You could use just caster sugar in both the topping & filling but I’d recommend using the different types, for the best flavour and texture!
- Spices – Ground cinnamon & ginger is used in our filling, for a subtle spiced flavour. We’re only using a small amount of each spice, so that we don’t over power the apples.
- Porridge Oats – Rolled/old fashioned porridge oats work best for the crumble topping.
- Vanilla – Apples & vanilla is a classic combination! A small amount of good quality vanilla paste works best (for the filling).
- Salt – Adding salt to both the filling & topping is key to making the best tasting crumble.
- Lemon – Lemon juice stops the apples browning as we prep them. It also adds a touch of acidity to the filling, which balances out the sweetness.
How To Make A Classic Apple Crumble
The full, printable recipe card for this crumble can be found at the bottom of this post!
- Crumble Topping – We’re making the crumble topping first, to give it plenty of time to chill in the fridge before baking (this makes it crispier!). To make the topping, we rub cold butter into flour (and a pinch of salt) until it resembles breadcrumbs then stir in porridge oats & sugar. We then squeeze the mix together with our hands, to form small clumps then pop it in the fridge whilst we cook the apples for the filling.
- Apple Prep – Now onto the filling! To make this, we first need to peel & core our apples then cut them into 1-2cm chunks. As we cut them, we toss them in lemon juice to stop them going brown.
- Cooking The Filling – Once our apples are prepped, we coat them in caster sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, ginger & a small amount of salt. Then to cook, we brown some butter in a pan, add in two thirds of the apples then cook until they are soft & starting to break down. Next we stir in the remaining apples, cook for another 2 minutes then take the pan off the heat.
- Assembly & Baking – To assemble the crumble, we add the filling into a 10″ ovenproof dish (that has been greased with butter) then sprinkle over the chilled topping, making sure to completely cover the apples. We then bake the crumble for 25-30 minutes at 180°c/356°f, until the top is crisp & golden and the filling is bubbling.
- To Serve – Scoop the crumble out into bowls (a large serving spoon works best!) then serve with ice cream, custard or pouring cream.
What To Serve With Apple Crumble
We’re making a classic apple crumble, which works great with vanilla ice cream, warm custard or simply some pouring cream. These accompaniments are all creamy which cuts through the sweetness of the crumble nicely, without overpowering the flavour of the apples.
Apple Crumble Tips & Tricks
- Partially cook apples – To give the filling some extra texture, reserve some of apples to stir in after cooking the filling. These pieces will keep their shape once the crumble is baked & you’ll have a mix of chunks & broken down apple.
- Chill the crumble topping – For a crisp, crunchy crumble, we make the topping first then chill it in the fridge whilst we make the filling.
- Use a mix of sugars – Using a mix of demerara sugar & light brown sugar in the crumble topping gives it a crisp, fudgy texture.
- Go easy on the spices – We want our crumble to taste of apples so we only need to use a small amount of spice (cinnamon & ginger). We don’t want to overpower the crumble!
- Serve with ice cream or custard – A classic apple crumble works best with either vanilla ice cream, custard or pouring cream.
Frequently Asked Questions
Cooking apples such as bramleys, granny smiths or braeburns work best for crumble. You could also use ⅔ cooking apples & ⅓ eating apples. If you’re using a mix of cooking & eating apples, you’d cook the cooking apples first then add the eating apples at the end.
Any leftover apple crumble can be reheated in a microwave (for a minute or so) or in a 180°c/356°f oven for around 10 minutes. If the crumble starts to brown too much in the oven, cover it loosely with foil.
This crumble would work with pears instead of apples or you could add in some blackberries, peaches or apricots in place of some of the apples.
Both the crumble filling & topping can be made in advance & stored separately in the fridge for up to 3 days (or in the freezer for several months). If you’re cooking the crumble straight from the fridge, add a couple of minutes to the cooking time.
Yes, apple crumble can be frozen! The best way to do this, is to freeze the filling & topping in separate containers then assemble after it has defrosted. Both the filling & topping will keep for several months in the freeezer.
Cooking Apple Crumble In An Aga
With all of my recipes, I include cooking instructions for conventional ovens, fan ovens & also Agas. Here’s how to cook this recipe in an Aga…
Cook the apple crumble filling on the boiling plate then bake the crumble in the baking oven, on the bottom set of runners.
Equipment Used
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More Dessert Recipes To Try!
- Brown Butter Hobnob Cheesecake
- Amaretto Tiramisu
- Sticky Toffee Gingerbread
- French Toast Ice Cream
- Lemon Drizzle Bakewell Tart
- White Chocolate & Hazelnut Panna Cotta With Passionfruit
- Halva Ice Cream
- Raspberry Ripple Stracciatella Ice Cream
- Vanilla Panna Cotta & Roasted Strawberries
If you have enjoyed this classic apple crumble recipe, it would mean a lot if you could leave a review & rating!
Classic Apple Crumble
Equipment
- 10" Round Ovenproof Dish
- Large Saucepan
- Juicer
Ingredients
Crumble Topping
- 170 g Plain Flour
- A Pinch Of Sea Salt
- 150 g Unsalted Butter Chilled & Diced
- 80 g Porridge Oats
- 80 g Demerara Sugar
- 70 g Light Brown Sugar
Apple Filling
- 1½ kg Cooking Apples See Notes
- 1 Lemon, Juiced
- 100 g Caster Sugar
- 1 tsp Vanilla Paste
- ½ tsp Ground Cinnamon
- ¼ tsp Ground Ginger
- ¼ tsp Table Salt
- 60 g Unsalted Butter
To Serve
- Vanilla Ice Cream Or Custard
Instructions
Crumble Topping
- Place the plain flour & salt into a mixing bowl, add in the butter then rub in with your hands, until the mix resembles coarse breadcrumbs.
- Next, stir in the oats & both sugars then squeeze the mix together to form small clumps.If the pieces are too big, break them up with your fingers.
- Place the crumble mix into the fridge & leave to chill whilst you make the filling,
Apple Filling
- Preheat an oven to 180°c/160°c fan (356°f/320°f).
- Grease the inside of a round 10" ovenproof dish with butter then set aside.
- Peel & core the apples then cut into 1-2cm pieces. As you cut the apples, place the pieces into a mixing bowl with the lemon juice, to stop them going brown.
- Next, add the sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, ginger & salt to the apples & stir to coat.
- Place the butter into a large saucepan then set over a medium heat & cook until browned, stirring almost constantly. This will take 2-3 minutes.
- Add ⅔ of the apple pieces (& all of the liquid in the bowl) to the brown butter then cook until the apples have just started to break down. This will take around 5-10 minutes. Make sure to stir the apples regularly!
- Stir in the remaining pieces of apple, cook for another 2 minutes then take the pan off the heat.Adding the remaining apples right at the end means that they will hold their shape once cooked. This gives the filling extra texture. If you're using a mix of cooking & eating apples, you'd cook the cooking apples first then add the eating apples at the end.
- Transfer the filling into the greased dish then sprinkle the chilled crumble topping over the top, so that the apples are completely covered.
- Bake the crumble in the preheated oven for 25-30 minutes, until the topping is crisp & golden and the filling is bubbling.I'd recommend cooking the crumble on a baking tray, just in case any juices bubble over!
- Once baked, spoon the crumble into bowls then serve with scoops of vanilla ice cream or a generous amount of hot vanilla custard.
