Apple and Blackberry Crumble

Oh yes, it’s that time of year again folks. Winter is drawing in on us and the last of the blackberries are waiting to be picked. I did my picking a few weeks ago and prepped them for the freezer. You need to wash them first, then lay them flat on a baking tray and freeze them individually, that way you won’t end up with one big frozen blob when you come to use them.

Don’t they look pretty? Like they got hit by a hard frost.

Of course, you can make any filling you like for your crumble, I chose this one because it’s seasonal, but also because it’s mighty fiiiiiine. My favourite is actually apple, rhubarb and ginger. I made one to post but alas, it isn’t the most photogenic of the family so just go make it and you can enjoy the flavour without my picture putting you off!

So, you need to start by stewing your fruit. I used two medium cooking apples, peeled and chopped into bite-size chunks. You can stew some rhubarb in a saucepan with a little water and sugar to taste and a bit of finely chopped fresh ginger, or you can go with the blackberries.

Either way, the apple provides a solid base for your fruit filling. I put the apple chunks in a saucepan, add a sprinkling of water just so the apple doesn’t burn on the bottom of the pan but not too much as the fruit will release water as it cooks anyway. You can then cook it to your desired consistency.

Personally, I don’t like a mush of apple but I don’t like to bite into a crisp bit of apple either. Mine were perfect this time, I cooked them until they were going fluffy around the edges but they still retained their shape rather than falling apart all over the place. I then added a sprinkling of sugar and a teaspoon of mixed spice/cinnamon.

I then layered a small dish with the apple and dotted a few of the frozen blackberries about in it. You can use an appropriate size for the amount of stewed fruit you have. Play it by ear.

Onto the topping:
75g wholemeal flour
75g plain flour
50g sugar
mixed spice
75g soya spread

Put the flours (you can just use one type, whichever you have to hand, I just like the oaty bits that the wholemeal flour adds to the texture of the crumble….. depends what your thing is really) in a mixing bowl with the sugar and mixed spice. Use your fingertips to rub the spread in until it is thoroughly mixed in and resembling breadcrumbs. Spread it evenly on top of the dish of stewed fruit, sprinkle with a little more sugar for added crunch and prettiness.

Pop in an oven at 170°C for about half an hour until the topping is browning and the fruit will be bubbling underneath.

Can be served on it’s own or with soya cream, ice cream or custard.