I’m calling this apple crumble “rustic” not only because it’s far from being a fancy-pants dish, but also because the photo above shows it served in some rustic pottery I bought from the original potter on a road trip I can’t even remember how long ago!
Sometimes things just taste/work better made in the same baking dishes. Don’t you think? It’s why I don’t have a matching set of oven dishes or baking trays. I like making things in the dishes I’m used to making them in.
When I was younger, having things all matchy-matchy seemed important. Not any more. I like that I have kitchen-ware from different periods in my life, and have inherited others. I like to think of it as incorporating even more wabi-sabi in the kitchen. Earlier I wrote about the wabi-sabi of keeping and referring to old, faded recipes. I do it, because I think they’re beautiful. Same with my old, favourite baking dishes.
So, this ceramic dish sees a lot of nice old-fashioned apple crumble. The memories, and years of use, add to the flavour 😀.
As for dessert, I think there are three types of dessert people:
-the chocolate ones
-the cream ones
-and the fruit ones.
I’ll go with fruit, 90% of the time. Which are you?
“I know the look of an apple that is roasting and sizzling on a hearth on a winter’s evening, and I know the comfort that comes of eating it hot, along with some sugar and a drench of cream.”
-Mark Twain, Autobiography of Mark Twain: The Complete and Authoritative Edition, Volume 1
Rustic Apple Crumble
Ingredients
Filling
- 9-11 green Granny Smith apples (depending on size), peeled, cored and sliced. I prefer Granny Smiths because they are not too sweet
- ¼ cup sugar
- little bit lemon juice
- sprinkling of cinnamon if you like cinnamon
- other fruit if desired. If I have a few leftover blueberries or raspberries I will thrown them in. Sultanas work nicely.
Topping
- 225 g plain flour – you can use wholemeal, or gluten free
- 115 g unsalted butter, chopped
- 100 g caster sugar
- pinch salt
Instructions
Filling
- Put fruit into saucepan with sugar and a bit of lemon juice to stop it browning. Add half cup water to cover the base of the saucepan. Cover the saucepan, bring to boil, then turn it down to a simmer. Stew the apples until soft but not pureed, unless that's the texture you prefer. Take care not to steam off all the water. If mix is too liquidy, drain a little.
- Sprinkle with cinnamon if using, and put into baking dish. Add berries if using.
Topping
- Topping can be made in advance and kept in fridge until required.
- Combine ingredients. Using hands (sorry, I prefer hands because of the greater control than a blender) rub butter through the flour. The flour will turn from white to a light yellow. The texture you're going for is thick breadcrumbs. Don't worry if it's a little lumpy – lumpy can be good – as long as the butter is blended through.
Baking
- Preheat oven to 210℃/410℉.
- Spread topping loosely on filling and bake for about half an hour or until top is golden and starting to crisp.
- Serve with cream, ice cream, custard or on its own.
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