Blackberry and apple crumble

Last night I made another blackberry and apple crumble, a staple of this time of year. It seems impossible to go out for a walk right now, without coming home laden with blackberries. I’ve just had a neighbour offer me apples from their tree to, so I’m sorted! My crumbles are all different, depending on what ingredients I have at hand, I recommend you do the same… see whats in your store cupboard, what around for free, and then experiment. Here is a basic recipe for you to play with:

Ingredients (filling)
3 large Bramley apples (or whatever you can get hold of for free)
150g caster sugar
pinch of cinnamon
a good punnet of blackberries

topping
50g/2oz butter or marg (butter crumbles are lovely, but marg works just fine)
110g/4oz plain flour (or I like a mix of flour and oats)
55g/2oz caster sugar
seeds such as linseed or flaked almonds (optional)

method
1. preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas mark 6
2. peel, core and cut apples into slices of chunks
3. add a splash of water to a pan, the sugar and cinnamon and gently sauté the apples until slightly cooked
4. add the blackberries to the apples and stir gently
5. to make the topping, lightly rub butter or marg into the flour (or flour oat mix) add the sugar an rub into crumbs.
6. spoon the apples and blackberries into a shallow, ovenproof dish, sprinkle over crumb mixture
7. cover with seed or flaked almonds if desired
8. place in the oven for about 20-30 mins or until light golden brown.
9. serve with icecream, or cream or yogurt or custard!

It freezes well, allowing you to take advantage of the glut of fruit.

Today’s illustration ‘blackberries’ © Lois Blackburn www.loisblackburn.co.uk for more