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Crumble is the comfort recipe of the season

Put an autumn coat on your baking with these easy crumble recipes. Have fun

experimenting with different toppings and ingredients in renditions both sweet

and savoury, like this classic apple pudding and a squash and spinach casserole

with a crumbly topping...

You don t need someone like me to tell you that crumble is a delight at this

time of year. Crumble is autumn and autumn is crumble: it s a path so

well-trodden that I m aware of dipping well into clich by choosing it as this

week s theme. Most of us could rustle up a passable apple crumble with neither

recipe, nor scales, nor measuring cups. With that in mind, see the recipes

below not so much as hard-and-fast guides, but just starting points for your

own experiments. I ve used nutty spelt flour and hazelnuts in my apple crumble,

but there s no reason why you shouldn t try almonds, crunchy demerara sugar and

a little rye. Or, play around with different cheeses in the savoury crumble to

top the butternut squash stew, and try booze-laced cherries in place of the

strawberries with the coconut and almond crumble topping below.

▲ Cook s tip: use roughly half butter to flour by weight; be generous with

spices and herbs; don t overdo the sugar.

Nutty spelt apple crumble

I always use cox or braeburn apples in my crumbles, though I know there ll be

those of you who swear by tarter varieties to balance the sweetness of the

topping. The choice is yours, really, and a pudding as homely as crumble is

hardly the place to quibble over such specifics. Just make sure you tweak the

sugar quantities depending on what apples you choose, and steer clear of very

sweet eating apples, such as Pink Ladies, which don t tend to hold up as well

to cooking.

Serves 6

8 cox apples, peeled, cored and cut into chunks

60g soft light brown sugar

3 tbsp wholemeal spelt flour

tsp cinnamon

tsp ground ginger

For the crumble topping

100g salted butter, cubed, at room temperature

200g wholemeal spelt flour

75g hazelnuts, roasted and chopped

100g soft light brown sugar

75g dark chocolate, cut into small chunks

1 Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/gas mark 4. Pick out a medium oven dish or tin

roughly 1.5 litre capacity.

2 Prepare the apples. Toss the apples with the brown sugar, flour, cinnamon and

ginger.

3 In a mixing bowl, rub the butter into the flour, then stir in the sugar and

chocolate chunks. Sprinkle the crumble mixture over the filling in a thick

layer.

4 Bake in the preheated oven for 40-45 minutes, or until the apple is tender,

the juices bubbling through and the crumble golden brown. Enjoy hot, with a

good vanilla ice-cream.

Two pudding recipes with apples and pears

Read more

Butternut squash and spinach casserole with herbed feta crumble (see an

interactive version here)

Crumble doesn t have to be sweet. Here s a cheesy, herb-flecked version that

you can adapt for more or less any stew or casserole. You could swap the feta

for cheddar or gruyere, add a few pinches of spices or add a handful or

breadcrumbs for a slightly lighter result.

Serves 6

4 tbsp olive oil

4 spring onions, finely sliced

4 garlic cloves, finely sliced

2 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp ground cinnamon

tsp ground nutmeg

tsp chilli flakes

1 small butternut squash, in 2-3cm chunks

2 x 400g tins chopped tomatoes

500-600ml vegetable stock

400g tin chickpeas

350g fresh spinach

For the topping

200g plain flour

100g butter

200g feta, diced

A bunch of parsley, finely chopped

1 Heat the oil in a large casserole over a low heat, add the spring onions and

fry for 3-4 minutes, until they begin to soften. Add the garlic, cumin,

cinnamon, nutmeg and chilli and cook for 2 minutes, stirring all the while.

Once the spices are fragrant and the garlic sizzling, throw in the squash,

chopped tomatoes and stock, then put a lid on the pan and leave it all to

simmer on a low heat for 15 minutes.

2 When the squash has started to soften, take the lid off and leave it to

bubble for another 5 minutes to reduce the sauce a little. Add the chickpeas

and spinach, stir everything together to wilt the leaves and remove the pan

from the heat. Let it cool a little while you preheat the oven to 200C/400F/gas

mark 6 and prepare the crumble.

3 For the crumble topping, measure the flour into a large bowl, then add the

butter and half the feta in small cubes. Rub the fat and cheese into the flour

between your fingertips until there are no visible chunks left, then stir in

the rest of the feta and the parsley.

4 Sprinkle the crumble mixture over the filling (if you don t have an ovenproof

casserole, first decant the butternut squash stew from its pan into a 2 -3

litre oven dish). Bake for 25-30 minutes, until the sauce is bubbling up

through the crumble and the chunks of feta are blushing golden brown. Serve

straight away with plenty of green veg.

Strawberry almond crisp

I d never send a good strawberry to the oven. The best strawberries the tiny,

dark red early-summer ones, so ripe that they stain your fingers crimson and

fall eagerly from their stems should be enjoyed with no more than a dollop of

softly whipped cream. But when they re out of season, underripe and pallid,

strawberries need a little help. I ve bundled a couple of punnets of them into

an easy crumble, balanced with a splash of balsamic and topped with a buttery,

nut-strewn topping.

Serves 6

600g strawberries

1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

75g caster sugar

3 tbsp plain flour

For the crumble topping

75g plain flour

A pinch of salt

40g unsalted butter, in chunks

30g flaked almonds

30g desiccated coconut

40g caster sugar

1 Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/gas mark 4. Rinse the strawberries, then hull

them and cut into quarters (smaller berries need only be cut in half). Drizzle

the balsamic vinegar over the strawberries, then toss through the sugar and

flour until the fruit are well coated. Tip into a 900g loaf tin.

2 Combine the flour with a good pinch of salt, then rub in the butter, in

chunks, between your fingertips. Once the mixture s sandy in texture, stir

through the flaked almonds, desiccated coconut and caster sugar. Sprinkle the

crumble mix over the fruit in a thick, even layer, then bake in the preheated

oven for 30-35 minutes, until the crimson sweet strawberry juices are bubbling

through, staining the golden crumble top.