Rhubarb & Apple Crumble
This rhubarb & apple crumble is a great way to use up seasonal rhubarb! The fruit's perfectly cooked & full of flavour and the topping is crisp, crunchy & lightly spiced. It's best served with ice cream or custard.
Servings: 8 People
Equipment
- 10" Round Baking Dish
- Large Saucepan
- Mixing Bowl
- Vegetable Peeler
Ingredients
Crumble Topping
- 170 g Plain Flour
- A Pinch Of Sea Salt
- ½ tsp Ground Cinnamon
- ½ tsp Ground Ginger
- 150 g Unsalted Butter (Chilled & Diced)
- 80 g Porridge Oats
- 80 g Demerara Sugar
- 70 g Light Brown Sugar
- 30 g Flaked Almonds (Optional)
Rhubarb & Apple Filling
- 400 g Rhubarb
- 4 Braeburn Apples
- 175 g Caster Sugar
- 50 g Unsalted Butter
- 1 tbsp Lemon Juice
- 1 tsp Vanilla Paste
- A Pinch Of Sea Salt
- 1 tbsp Cornflour
- 1 tbsp Cold Water
To Serve
- Vanilla Ice Cream Or Custard
Instructions
Crumble Topping
- Place the plain flour, salt, cinnamon & ginger into a mixing bowl, stir to combine then add in the butter. Rub the butter in with your hands, until the mix resembles coarse breadcrumbs.
- Next, stir in the oats, both sugars & almonds 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.
Rhubarb & 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.
- Lightly trim the ends off the rhubarb if needed then cut into 3 cm pieces. Set aside for now.
- Next, peel, quarter & core the apples then cut into 3 cm pieces.
- Add the apples into a large saucepan along with the sugar, butter, lemon juice, vanilla & salt. Set the pan over a medium heat then cook, stirring frequently until the apples are starting to soften. This will take 5 minutes or so.Apples take longer to cook than rhubarb which is why we add them in first.
- Add the rhubarb pieces into the pan then continue cooking for another 3-4 minutes, until the rhubarb is starting to soften as well. Make sure to stir the fruit frequently!
- Place the cornflour & water into a small bowl, mix together then stir into the fruit. Cook out for another minute or so, until thick then transfer the fruit into the greased dish.
- Sprinkle the cold crumble topping over the fruit, to completely cover then bake in the preheated oven for 25-30 minutes until the topping is golden brown & the filling is bubbling.
- Once cooked, let the crumble stand for a couple of minutes then spoon into bowls & serve with ice cream or custard (or both!).
Notes
1. Cooking On An Aga - Use the boiling plate to cook the fruit then bake the crumble in the baking oven, on the bottom set of runners.
2. Rhubarb - This recipe works with both regular & forced rhubarb. Use whatever is in season!
3. Apples - I like to use Braeburn apples for crumble as they hold their shape once cooked. Other cooking apples like Granny Smiths & Bramleys will work as well.
4. Sugar - I'd recommend tasting the fruit as it cooks then adding in more sugar if needed. If you're using forced rhubarb, you probably won't need as much sugar as it tends to be sweeter.
5. Making In Advance - Both the filling & topping can be made in advance & stored in the fridge for a couple of days. I'd recommend assembling the crumble just before baking. If you're baking the crumble straight from the fridge, you'll need to add a couple of extra minutes to the cooking time.
6. Leftovers - Leftover crumble needs to be stored in the fridge & is best eaten within a couple of days. Leftover crumble can be reheated in a microwave (for a minute or so) or in a 180°c/356°f oven. If the crumble starts to brown too much in the oven, cover it loosely with foil.