Apple Crumble

Every Tuesday night, because we have family dinner at home, I try to make it a point to make dessert, because inevitably, the kids will ask, "what's for dessert". Most kids grow up talking about their mother's cooking; I hope when mine grow up, they'll talk about, ahem, their father's cooking. For me, the undisputable culinary reference in my family is my late maternal grandmother, and I kick myself for not having the foresight to write down her recipes before she went to the light.

Anyway, since I very ambitiously went for a double gym class yesterday, (Body Pump and Body Combat, back to back), that didn't leave me very much time to make anything elaborate. I needed something wholesome, comforting with the option of turning sinful, and easy to prepare, eaten fresh out of the oven, immediately after dinner. So, when I got home at 8pm, (dinner usually starts about 8.20pm or so), it was time to hit the kitchen.

And considering the very premium prices restaurants charge for crumble, you might want to dirty your little hands a bit and try out this recipe.

Filling:

8 granny smith apples, peeled and cored, (by the maid, if you have one), and 1/8th-ed. ie, quartered, then each quarter is halved.
3 table spoons sugar - brown or yellow, black or white, they are precious in His sight
1 tablespoon cinnamon or less, depending on your penchant for cinnamon
1/2 teaspon of clove powder
1 cup raisins (my family doesn't like raisins, so this is omitted)
alternatively, the zest of one lemon

Cook the above mixture for about 8 minutes in a large pot, stirring occasionally to ensure the bottom doesn't burn. But there's lots of fluid so its unlikely you'll burn it unless you're cooking it on a hokkien mee fire. Test the apples to see if they are tender enough for your preference. Some like it firm, some like it soft.

Crumble:

2 cups flour
125gm butter
1/2 cup brown sugar

Rub in the butter into the flour & sugar, until it resembles breadcrumbs. If you have a food processor, (doesn't have to be a magimix), you can blitz together the ingredients until resembles breadcrumbs. Pour out into a mixing bowl (if from processor)

Add:
1 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup chopped almonds or almond slivers

Rub in the above ingredients. Note, feel free to add muesli, raisins, other nuts, whatever tickles your palate. The main crumble mixture should be enough to bind the crumble together.

Place apples (or if you prefer, peach and banana, which you dont even need to cook) at the bottom (obviously) of a baking dish, pyrex, corningware, about 8"x8", and sprinkle lightly (as in don't squish and squash) the crumble topping.

Bake in a 180C oven until browned. About 30 minutes. Serve with 1. Pure Cream (this is where the sin factor comes in), or, 2. Custard Sauce, or 3. Vanilla Ice cream, or ALL OF THE ABOVE. Yay.






We have here the crumble with a dollop of Bulla Pure Cream. Hmmm, Sinful as Hell, Good as Heaven.

And for fellow Nigella fans out there, thanks to Boolicious of Masak Masak, who sent me this precious little snippet. I'd much rather it were glad wrap (clingfilm) than aluminium foil. But then again, she is 47 oridi.