Apple-Berry Crumble

prep time: 20 minutescook time: 25 minutesservings: 6-8

Some desserts simply convey warmth and comfort, such as an apple crumble fresh out of the oven. The smell of caramelized apples, cinnamon and buttery crumble pieces will fill up your whole kitchen. This is a classic dessert and a favourite of many people.

There are many variations of this recipe out there and this is my take on it. I like a mix of tart and sweet apples (3 tart to 1 sweet), as well as adding frozen berries to the mix. My family loves this recipe, and it has become a staple Christmas dessert. The best part, it is incredibly easy to make, so easy, that even those with hardly any cooking experience can do it.

Preheat your oven on the circulating air setting at 180° Celsius. Wash your apples, cut them into quarters, core and peel them. Juice the lemon and set aside. Cut the apple quarters into 1 cm pieces and put aside in a bowl. After chopping up your first apple, add a little lemon juice to the apple pieces and mix well to help the apple stay crisp and prevent them from oxidizing. Repeat after each apple. Mix in the cinnamon and the brown sugar, and make sure that the apples are evenly coated.

You can substitute the brown sugar in this recipe for coconut sugar, but the dish will have a deeper, caramel and less sweet taste. Coconut sugar is often less processed than white or brown sugar and a very popular sugar alternative. If you use coconut sugar, consider adding a splash of maple syrup or honey (or agave syrup) to balance out the flavours.

Take your baking dish (preferably a glass one), about 20 by 20 cm, and grease the interior generously with some butter. Add your apple mixture and spread it evenly in the pan. Top it with the frozen berries and gently press the mixture down into the pan with your flat hands. Personally, I simply get a berry mix, but you can also opt for individual fruits. Tart berries such as raspberries or blackberries go great with this recipe, just make sure that they have no extra sugar added. Set aside and let the mixture marinate while you make the crumble.

Making the crumbly topping is simple and if you have a food processor it's going to be a piece of cake. To make your life even easier, first add your nuts and pulse a couple of times to chop them into little pieces. Then add the brown sugar, whole wheat flour and old-fashioned oats. Lastly, cut the cold butter into smaller pieces and add it to your dry ingredients and pulse a couple of times until everything comes together. It is very important that you use cold butter! Take out the blade from your food processor or transfer the mixture to another bowl. Using your fingers, slightly press the mixture together before crumbling it. You can make the crumble pieces as small or large as you want, however this process should not take too long because otherwise the butter will start to melt.

In your baking dish sprinkle a single layer of old-fashioned oats over your apple-berry mixture, making sure that everything is well-covered. This will help the crumble from becoming soggy after baking. Put your crumble mixture on top and spread evenly.

Bake on the middle rack of your oven for about 25 to 30 minutes, until the apple-berry mixture is bubbly and the crumble has browned to your liking. If your crumble browns too quickly, you can always cover your pan with some tin foil. Take the crumble out of the oven and set aside to cool down for a couple of minutes. Apple crumble is best served with vanilla ice cream. Scoop a generous portion of your warm crumble into a serving bowl and top it off with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. The sweet ice cream will melt and provide a perfect contrast to the hot and tart apple crumble.

This dessert if also perfect to prepare ahead of time, even a day ahead. Simply reheat in the oven at 180° degrees for 15 minutes before serving until the apple-berry mixture bubbles. Make sure to cover it with tin foil to prevent your crumble from burning.

This recipe can also easily be adapted to be vegan. Grease your pan with some margarine and instead of butter in your crumble you can use your favourite spread or coconut oil. Plus, Ben & Jerry's has some great dairy-free ice cream options. If you want to add a more exotic touch to your dessert, people often like to add a teaspoon of finely grated ginger to the apple mix.

This apple-berry crumble is an easy dessert that checks all the boxes: sweet, tart, warm, comforting, crunchy, melty - it will also surely be a crowd pleaser with your family and friends, and it takes very little time, effort and money to make.