I figured that the first recipe I’m going post on here should be the recipe that got me into baking. Though I should probably give you some back story first. On one typical English morning our food teacher assigned us a job. The job was pretty simple, it was to decide what extra ingredient we should add to a basic apple crumble.
For as long as I could remember I have had a love affair with cinnamon, so that was what I immediately picked. It was only recently that I realised that nearly every apple crumble recipe in existence had cinnamon in. Maybe I knew what I was doing after all?
Probably not.
Regardless, I fell in love with baking that day. And I’ve never looked back.
Cinnamon Fruit Crumble
Ingredients:
For the fruit:
500 - 600g (1kg - 1.2kg) Cooking apples (If you end up with not enough apples you can always bulk it up with raisins or blackberry’s or whatever you've got in your house)
50g (100g) Sugar, brown or white it’s to your preference. I usually use brown.
2 tsp (3 1/2 - 4 tsp) Ground cinnamon
2 tbsp (4 tbsp) Water
For the crumble:
150g (300g) Plain flour
50g (100g) Oats (Optional - more often than not I leave these out)
100g (200g) Sugar, again it’s up to you whether you use brown or white. I usually use brown.
100g (200g) Unsalted butter, soften
1 tsp (2 tsp) Ground cinnamon
This recipe usually gives around 2-3 servings. When we have company around I double it (or when I'm feeding both my father and brother-in-law), the amounts given in brackets give around 5-6 servings.
1) Pre-heat oven to Gas Mark 6.
2) Peal and de-core the apples then chop them into bite size pieces. Make sure they’re all around the same size as this will help them cook evenly. Try not to make them too small because when they cook they may turn to mush. If you have to add any additional fruit to get the required weight, do so now.
Tip: To keep your apples from going brown, fill a bowl up with cold water and place them in there after chopping. Just make sure to drain them thoroughly afterwards.
3) Put the chopped apples into a large microwaveable bowl, with the cinnamon, sugar and water. Put them in the microwave for 10 minutes (add an extra minute if you’re doubling the recipe) with a lid. Do not let them boil. If you notice they are, stop the microwave for a moment and then carry on until they have cooked for the full 10 minutes.
4) While the fruit is cooking make the crumble. Add the flour and butter to another bowl and rub between your fingers until they resemble bread crumbs. Yes, this job is messy but stay with it, the end product is worth it.
5) Add the oats, sugar and cinnamon and mix.
6) When the fruit is done and has cooled slightly pour it into a large oven proof dish. Flatten them so they cover the base of the dish.
Then add the crumble on top.
7) Put in the over for around 20 minutes and rewarm before serving.
And ta-da! First recipe complete! I hope you like it, feedback is always welcome :). Thank you for reading!
Until next time,
Katie.
