Apple Oat Crumble
- 20 min prep
- 70 min
- Bake
- Serves 5
- 455 kcal
- 6.1 g protein
Soft, cinnamon-warm apples under a thick, crunchy oat and atta crumble. Eggless by nature, ready in under an hour, and very forgiving of uneven chopping.
Ingredients
- 5 medium apples (about 800 g), peeled, cored and cut into 2 cm chunks
- 3 tbsp (40 g) sugar, more if your apples are tart
- 1 tsp cinnamon powder
- 1 tbsp (15 ml) lemon juice
- 2 tbsp (30 ml) water
- ¾ cup (90 g) whole wheat flour (atta) or maida
- ¾ cup (70 g) rolled oats
- ½ cup (100 g) brown sugar or demerara sugar
- A pinch of salt
- 6 tbsp (85 g) cold butter, cubed
- ¼ cup (30 g) chopped almonds or walnuts (optional)
Method
- 1Heat the oven to 190°C. In an OTG, put the rack in the lower-middle position with both rods on. Keep ready a baking dish of about 20 x 20 cm or a 23 cm round dish, at least 5 cm deep.
- 2Put the apples, sugar, cinnamon, lemon juice and water in a pan over medium heat. Cook for 5 to 6 minutes, stirring now and then, until the edges of the apple start to soften and the juices turn syrupy. Taste and add sugar if needed, then tip into the dish.
- 3For the crumble, mix the flour, oats, brown sugar and salt in a bowl. Add the cold butter and rub it in with your fingertips until the mixture looks like rough breadcrumbs with some pea-sized lumps. Stir in the nuts.
- 4Squeeze a few handfuls of the crumble together so you get some bigger clumps, then scatter it evenly over the apples. Do not press it down.
- 5Set the dish on a tray to catch drips and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until the top is deep golden and crisp and the fruit is bubbling up at the edges.
- 6Rest for 10 minutes before serving so the juices thicken slightly.
Notes from the Department
- Keep the butter cold. Warm butter turns the topping into a paste instead of crumbs.
- Make the crumble mix ahead and freeze it in a bag for up to 2 months; scatter it over fruit straight from frozen.
- If the top browns before the apples bubble, cover loosely with foil for the last 10 minutes.
Nutrition per serving
- Energy
- 455 kcal
- Protein
- 6.1 g
- Carbohydrate
- 72 g
- Fat
- 18 g
- Fibre
- 7.8 g
- Sugars
- 43 g
Why this works
Giving the apples a short head start on the stove means they turn soft and jammy in the oven, while the topping only has to worry about getting crisp. Rolled oats in the crumble add crunch and a toasty flavour that a flour-only topping does not have, and they hold their shape better than flour alone, so the top stays craggy rather than sandy.
A crumble has never needed an egg, which makes it the easiest of the classic bakes to get right at home.
Which apples to use
Tart, firm apples break down into a softer, tangier filling. In India, green Granny Smith types work best, but ordinary Shimla or Kashmiri apples are fine; just reduce the sugar slightly and add an extra squeeze of lemon. Mixing in a pear or a handful of berries is also a good idea.
Swaps
For a vegan crumble, use cold coconut oil or a firm plant butter. Jaggery powder replaces brown sugar well. Quick oats can be used, though the topping will be less chunky. A pinch of dry ginger or nutmeg in the apples warms things up.
Serving and storage
Serve warm with vanilla ice cream, thick curd, or a pour of chilled custard. Leftovers keep covered in the fridge for 3 days; reheat at 180°C for 10 minutes to bring the crunch back, as the microwave will soften it.
Questions people ask
- Can you put oats in apple crumble topping?
- Yes. Rolled oats make the topping crunchier and more textured. Use roughly equal parts flour and oats, and keep the butter cold so it stays crumbly.
- Why is my crumble topping soggy?
- The fruit released too much liquid, or the topping was pressed down. Pre-cooking the apples, as here, removes some of the liquid, and leaving the crumble loose lets steam escape.
- Can I make apple crumble ahead?
- Assemble it up to a day ahead and refrigerate, then bake for an extra 5 to 10 minutes. You can also freeze the assembled, unbaked crumble for up to 2 months.
Inspired by BBC Food. Method, notes and photograph by the Ministry of Oats.
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