Luscious apple blackberry crumble

This apple blackberry crumble has been one of my favorite desserts for years. It’s incredibly easy to make, it’s so rich in taste and, as with all baked desserts, you even get the double pleasure of getting to it eat and enjoying the smell of it as it bakes away in the oven.

To me it also reminds me of that comforting feeling of being home with one of my grandmas. (I had the privilege of knowing three of them.) They all seemed to know that good cooking does not need to be complicated. It’s not that they didn’t care about presentation. In fact their food always looked great, but to all of them taste always came first. From them I always remember that if you have that one down, the presentation becomes easy, and trust me, everyone will love your food.

This is a very classic old-school dessert and one of those fantastic sweet treats that definitely proves that less is sometimes more. I love the sweet and sour combination of apple and blackberry and the rich caramelized finish provided by the brown sugar. Serve with a good vanilla ice cream or creme fraiche, and I promise that everyone who tastes this will leave with a smile on their face.

Apple blackberry crumble with brown sugar and cinnamon (serves 6)

Ingredients

3/4 cup/6 oz (175 g) salted butter + a 1-2 tbsp extra butter for greasing the baking tray/pan

3/4 cup/5 oz (150 g) brown sugar

2 cups/9 oz (250 g) all purpose flour

3 red apples

About 1 1/4 pints (200 g) blackberries

2 tbsp white sugar

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

Vanilla ice cream or creme fraiche to serve

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees Celcius).

2. Grease a round baking tray/pie pan (about 10 inch/26 cm diameter wide) with butter.

3. Cut up the apples into slices and place in the baking tray/pan as shown in the picture.

4. Wash and dry the blackberries and spread them evenly on top of the apples.

5. Mix the white sugar and cinnamon well and toss over the apples and blackberries.

6. Put the flour and brown sugar in a bowl and mix a bit using your fingers or a spoon or fork. Cut up the butter into cubes and add. Start mixing with your finger until the butter is evenly distributed, and the flour/brown sugar/butter mix turns into a coarse crumble mass.

7. Distribute the crumble mix evenly over the apples and blackberries and finish off by pressing down the crumble with your fingers.

8. Bake in the oven for 40-45 minutes, or until the surface turn crispy brown. Or, if you prepare the apple blackberry crumble in advance, bake for 30 min. and then another 10-15 min. just before serving.

Enjoy!