Apple Crumble
An easy British pudding of warm cinnamon apples under a buttery, crunchy crumb topping, with no pastry to roll.
- Prep
- 20 min
- Cook
- 40 min
- Total
- 1 h
- Serves
- 6
- Level
- Easy
Ingredients
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Method
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The story of this dish
Crumble is one of Britain's best-loved home puddings, and it is younger than it looks. As the story is usually told, it rose to popularity during the Second World War, when flour, fat and sugar were rationed and a crumb topping offered a thriftier alternative to pastry pies.
The idea of scattering a crumb of flour, butter and sugar over fruit is simple but endlessly adaptable. Besides apple, it is made with rhubarb, blackberries, plums or mixtures of these, and apple and blackberry is an autumn favourite.
In Britain, crumble's inseparable partner is custard, a warm, pourable vanilla sauce. In the United States a similar dessert is usually called a "crisp", and its topping most often includes oats.
British Cuisine
Shepherd's Pie
A much-loved British bake of lamb mince in a rich vegetable gravy, topped with buttery mashed potato and baked until golden.
Scones with Clotted Cream and Jam
Classic British scones, lightly crisp outside and soft within, split and piled with clotted cream and strawberry jam.