Crumbles are great. No special skills are needed and they’re a great way to use up different fruits before they go off – apple, pear, plum, peach, rhubarb, mango, berries… Mum makes a mean apple crumble, sometimes with the addition of rhubarb. When we lived in Wagga Wagga, Dad had a rhubarb plant in the backyard. I was terrified of it because he told me the leaves were poisonous. I think I was convinced that even accidentally brushing the big, flapping green leaves would instantly strike me down. But my preferred crumble is apple, berry and coconut – the berries turn the apple slices a lovely shade of pink, and the addition of desiccated coconut, lime and ginger add a few extra layers of flavour. Flaked almonds add a bit of crunch to the crumble. Serve with cream, ice cream or custard.

Gingery apple, berry and coconut crumble

Ingredients

For the base

  • Butter to grease
  • 4 Bramley apples, peeled, if desired, and sliced. Don’t slice too thinly or the base won’t be substantial enough.
  • 1/4 cup lime juice
  • 150g berries – fresh or frozen is fine. This works with pretty much any berry or a mixed berry bag from the supermarket freezer section
  • 4 tablespoons caster sugar
  • Ground ginger
  • 1/2 cup desiccated coconut

For the crumble

  • 3/4 cup rolled oats
  • 1/3 cup plain flour or almond flour
  • 1/4 cup desiccated coconut
  • 3 tablespoons butter
  • 2 tablespoons brown sugar
  • Ground ginger
  • 1/3 cup flaked almonds

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C.
  2. Grease an 8-inch x 12-inch baking dish and line the base with the apple slices.
  3. Pour the lime juice over the apple slices and sprinkle with the caster sugar, coconut and ginger, to taste.
  4. Put the berries in a layer evenly distributed across the apples.
  5. For the crumble topping, combine the butter and flour first, until it resembles breadcrumbs and then mix in the other ingredients, apart from the flaked almonds.
  6. Evenly distribute the crumble topping over the berries and then garnish with the almond flakes. Sprinkle a little extra brown sugar, ginger and coconut to taste.
  7. Bake in the oven for 35-45 minutes or until the topping is golden brown.
  8. Ideally, serve immediately.

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