Authentic Apple Crumble

The classic British crumble: raw cinnamon apples under a sandy layer of flour, butter and demerara sugar, served warm with custard.

On a fall Sunday, night falls early and the dish comes out of the oven sizzling at the edges. The spoon breaks through the golden layer, and the tender apples appear underneath, in thickened juices that smell of cinnamon.

A drizzle of custard runs between the buttery, sugary crumbs, which still crunch between your teeth. Fans of cinnamon rolls will recognize the same aroma. The hardest part is waiting out the ten-minute rest.

What Is Apple Crumble?

A crumble is a baked fruit dessert with no pastry base. The apples, sweetened and flavored with cinnamon, bake right in the dish under a mixture of flour, butter and sugar rubbed together, which stays crumbly instead of forming a crust. This version is the classic British crumble, without rolled oats: those go into apple crisp, a fruit dessert from American cuisine.

The name comes from the English verb to crumble, meaning to break into crumbs, which describes the topping exactly.

A Dessert Born of British Rationing

In Britain, crumble became popular during World War II rationing and in the years that followed. Butter and sugar were limited, and a layer of crumbs called for less flour and fat than a double-crust pie. It also took less work than pastry that has to be rolled out.

Crumble has remained a dessert for Sunday family meals and the fall months. It is served with custard, the custard sauce the British pour on hot.

The Main Ingredients in Apple Crumble

You need 750 g of peeled apples, or about six medium apples. In the UK, cooks use Bramleys, tart cooking apples you cannot find in mainland Europe: Boskoop, King of the Pippins, Elstar or Granny Smith give the same tart flavor. Sweeter eating apples also work, making for a sweeter filling and pieces that hold their shape better.

The apples are mixed with granulated sugar, cinnamon and a little cornstarch. The cornstarch thickens the fruit juices, so the filling turns thick and syrupy instead of leaving thin liquid at the bottom of the dish. Chinese cinnamon has a stronger aroma than Ceylon cinnamon.

The topping combines all-purpose flour, well-chilled unsalted butter and demerara sugar, whose large crystals add crunch. Brown sugar can replace the demerara, and stick margarine can stand in for the butter in an everyday crumble.

Technique Tips for a Crisp Crumble

Keep the butter cold until you rub it in, and stop rubbing as soon as the mixture looks sandy, with a few larger lumps: it should never come together into a dough. The apples go into the dish raw, cut into even pieces, and the surface of the crumble stays bumpy, because the high points are what brown. At the end of baking, the tip of a knife should slide easily into the apples; if the top browns too quickly, finish baking under a sheet of aluminum foil.

Serving the Crumble Warm

Resting for 10 to 15 minutes lets the juices thicken and makes it easier to serve. Crumble is eaten warm, with custard, thick cream, a scoop of vanilla ice cream for a hot-cold contrast, or plain. A few coarsely chopped air fryer roasted hazelnuts add crunch, and a cup of black tea goes well with it in the afternoon.

Covered, it keeps for 3 days in the refrigerator. To reheat it, the oven brings back its crispness better than the microwave, under a sheet of foil that you remove at the end. It is best frozen before baking, for up to 3 months, and baked without thawing, adding 15 to 20 minutes to the baking time.

For more desserts to share, try American brownies, American cookies or carrot cake, and for a cookie-like crust, Japanese melon pan.

Authentic Apple Crumble

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4.93/5 (13)

Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 45 minutes minutes

Total Time: 1 hour hour

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: British

Servings: 6 servings

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Mode cuisineEmpêche ton écran de se mettre en veille

Author: Marc Winer

Ingredients

Crumble

• 150 g all-purpose flour (T45 or T55)
• 75 g unsalted butter well chilled and diced, or stick margarine
• 75 g demerara sugar, or turbinado sugar

Apples

• 750 g apples, peeled and cored (about 6 medium apples)
• 75 g superfine sugar
• 0.75 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1.5 tablespoons cornstarch (such as Maizena)

To serve

• Custard, cream or vanilla ice cream, your choice

Add to meal plan

Instructions

Oven

• Preheat the oven to 180°C (160°C convection).

Crumble

• Put the flour in a large mixing bowl.
  150 g all-purpose flour
• Add the cold diced butter.
  75 g unsalted butter
  
• Using your fingertips, gently rub the butter and flour together until the mixture is coarse and sandy, with a few larger lumps.
  
• Stop as soon as you reach this texture: the mixture should stay crumbly and never come together into a dough.
• If the butter softens while you are rubbing it in, put the bowl in the fridge or freezer for a few minutes to firm it up.
• Add the demerara sugar.
  75 g demerara sugar,
• Stir with a spoon to distribute it evenly.
  
• Set the crumble aside while you prepare the apples.

Apples

• Peel the apples.
  750 g apples,
• Remove the cores.
• Roughly cut the apples into bite-size pieces, as even as possible so they all cook at the same rate.
  
• Put the apple pieces in a second large mixing bowl.
• Add the superfine sugar, cinnamon and cornstarch.
  75 g superfine sugar, 0.75 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1.5 tablespoons cornstarch
• Toss until all the apple pieces are coated.
  

Assembly

• Transfer the coated apples to a glass or ceramic baking dish about 20 cm across, with a capacity of 1 to 1.5 L.
• Spread the apples over the whole bottom of the dish.
• Press them down lightly so there are no large gaps.
  
• Spoon the crumble over the apples, covering the fruit completely.
  
• Using your fingertips, press lightly on top of the crumble to pack it down a little.
• Leave the surface uneven and bumpy rather than smoothing it: those bumps turn crisp and golden as it bakes.
  

Baking

• Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, until the top is crisp and golden.
• Toward the end of the baking time, insert the tip of a small knife into the center of the dish: it should slide easily into the apple pieces.
• If the apples are still firm, bake for a few more minutes, then check again.
• If the top is already nicely browned but the apples are not tender yet, lay a sheet of aluminum foil over the dish to finish baking.
• Take the crumble out of the oven.
  

Resting and serving

• Let the crumble rest for 10 to 15 minutes: the apple juices thicken slightly and it is easier to serve.
• Serve warm with custard, cream or vanilla ice cream, or on its own.
  Custard, cream or vanilla ice cream,
  

Notes

This is the timeless British pudding: sweet, cinnamon-scented apples under a crisp layer of flour, butter and sugar, served warm with plenty of custard, Britain’s hot crème anglaise. Crumble became hugely popular during and after World War II rationing, because this mix of flour, fat and sugar was simpler and cheaper than pie pastry.

A classic British crumble has no oats: it’s the American version, apple crisp, that includes them. For a version with oats, like Swedish smulpaj, stir a handful of rolled oats into the crumble before spreading it over the apples.

Choosing apples: in the UK, cooks use Bramleys and other cooking apples, which give a softer, slightly tarter filling. Bramleys are impossible to find in continental Europe: for that same tartness, use Boskoop, King of the Pippins, Elstar or Granny Smith. Sweeter eating apples work too: the filling is then sweeter and the pieces hold their shape a little better.

No need to precook the apples: cut into even pieces, they cook under the crumble as it bakes.

Cornstarch thickens the juice the apples release as they cook: the filling turns soft and syrupy instead of leaving watery liquid at the bottom of the dish. The recipe works without cornstarch, but the filling is runnier.

Demerara sugar, with its large crystals, gives the crumble extra crunch. You can replace it with turbinado sugar, light brown sugar, superfine sugar or granulated sugar: the flavor and texture change slightly.

Butter or margarine: stick margarine works for an everyday crumble, while butter gives a richer flavor. Unsalted butter is best, but salted butter is fine if that’s all you have. Either way, the fat must stay cold until you rub it in: that’s what gives a crumbly, crisp topping rather than a doughy layer.

Crumble not crisp enough: the butter was too warm, the mixture was overworked, or it didn’t bake long enough. Leave some bigger lumps in the crumble and bake until it is nicely golden.

Dish size: any baking dish of a similar capacity will do, even a cake pan. With 750 g of apples, a 1 L dish is filled to the brim; a 1.5 L dish of the same diameter gives you more room. A deeper dish or one made of a different material changes the baking time: keep an eye on it toward the end.

Storage: 3 days in the fridge, covered. Reheat in the microwave or the oven before serving.

Freezing: the crumble is best frozen before baking, for up to 3 months, with the dish wrapped in plastic wrap and then in aluminum foil. Bake it straight from frozen: allow 15 to 20 minutes extra baking time in total, keeping the dish covered with foil for the first 15 to 20 minutes.

Reheating: in the microwave, a portion heats up quickly but the crumble softens a little. To keep the top crisp, reheat it in the oven under a sheet of aluminum foil, removing the foil for the last few minutes.

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