Preparation
- Preheat the oven to 190 °C (conventional). Mix the apples with the sugar, lemon juice and cinnamon and put them in a deep baking dish (about 23 cm across); press down lightly.
- Mix the flour, brown sugar and salt in a bowl, add the cold butter and rub in with your fingertips to form moist crumbs.
- Scatter the crumble loosely over the apples, smooth with a fork and press down lightly so it turns crisp; sprinkle with oats and demerara sugar if you like.
- Place the dish on a baking tray and bake for 35 to 40 minutes until the top is golden brown and the apples are completely soft.
- Leave to cool for about 10 minutes and serve warm with cream, custard or ice cream.
Drink with it
Sweet wine · excellent match
Riesling Auslese or Sauternes
The wine has to be sweeter than the dessert; its acidity picks up the tart apples and cuts through the buttery crumble.
Which wine goes with dessert? Comparing sweetness deliberatelyFruit brandy · excellent match
Calvados Pays d'Auge, neat
Apple meets aged apple brandy, and the cask notes of the Calvados suit cinnamon and browned crumble.
What is Calvados? Apple brandy with originMellow whisky · excellent match
Speyside single malt from a bourbon cask, neat or with a little water
Vanilla and green apple notes in the whisky mirror the apples and vanilla ice cream.
Whisky with food: cheese, chocolate, and savory dishesCognac and brandy · good match
Cognac VSOP, neat
Dried fruit and vanilla from the cask sit alongside caramel and cinnamon without adding extra sweetness to the glass.
Cognac and Armagnac: Two Origins for Brandy