Rhubarb and apple crumble

Apple Crumble Recipe

Apple crumble is an all-time Aussie favourite for good reason – it’s easy to make with basic ingredients and it hits the spot when you need a comforting dessert for the family or an old-fashioned treat for your entertaining menu. It’s perfect to enjoy when apples are in season and great value at Coles, but it’s delicious at any time of year. Whenever you’re craving a homemade apple crumble, just raid the pantry for the crumble topping goodies, grab this recipe and get ready to whip up a classic. Then simply pop it in the oven and in less than 30 minutes you’ll be sinking your spoon through the crumbly topping into that juicy, syrupy fruit filling.

The nostalgia factor is high with apple crumble, so it’s not surprising that its history goes back a long way. The story goes that apple crumble replaced apple pie during World War 2 when butter, flour and sugar were rationed and the crumble topping became a low-budget twist on shortcrust pastry. The great thing about apple crumble is that anything goes – you can change up the ingredients in the crumble topping and add different fruits to the apple filling for extra colour and flavour.

Ingredients you will need for apple crumble

Traditional apple crumble recipes are made with butter and lots of sugar, so to create the best apple crumble recipe we’ve made some healthier twists to the basic formula. For the fruit filling, you’ll need to peel, core and chop 4 large apples. Granny Smith apples are the best choice for crumbles because they hold their shape well during cooking, so you won’t end up with a mushy filling. We love the sweet, tangy flavour too. Adding a bunch of rhubarb to the mix gives the filling extra colour, flavour and texture. If you don’t want to use rhubarb, increase the quantity to 6 apples. You can use any combo of fruit you like – try it with pears, plums or berries, too. Making a crumble is a great way to make the most of the best value seasonal fruit at Coles, or to use up whatever you have in the fridge or fruit bowl to help you cut back on food waste. To make this recipe better for you, we’ve reduced the sugar in the filling to 1 tablespoon and added cornflour and unsweetened apple juice to the fruit mixture. These help to create a thick, syrupy fruit mixture for topping with the crumble.

To make the topping, you’ll need a few simple pantry staples. The base ingredient is rolled oats, but you can swap some of these out for other ingredients if you have them – think cornflakes, shredded coconut or flaked almonds. You’ll also need half a cup of wholemeal plain flour and a little sugar – an unrefined sugar such as coconut sugar is great for this, or just use brown sugar. Don’t forget the ground cinnamon – this warm, sweet spice is a classic flavour match for apples in desserts and breakfast dishes. To turn these dry ingredients into a moist crumbly topping, you’ll also need some Nuttelex (or another dairy-free spread) and a spoonful of almond butter.

Equipment you will need for apple crumble

Anyone can make an apple crumble and you don’t need special tools to make it. To get started, take a baking dish large enough to hold the fruit and topping – about 6 cups or 1.5 litre capacity is good – and set it on a baking tray to catch any drips. Get a large saucepan ready to start cooking the fruit on the stovetop before you put it in the oven and have a spoon ready to stir it as it cooks. This helps the filling cook more quickly, so the topping doesn’t get too brown before the fruit underneath is tender. For the crumble, you’ll just need a mixing bowl and your hands – use your fingertips to rub the spread and nut butter into the dry ingredients until the mixture looks like breadcrumbs, then sprinkle it over the filling and bake.

How to serve apple crumble

To keep our apple crumble dairy-free, we’ve served it with scoops of dairy-free ice-cream – we can’t go past the combo of warm fruit, crispy crumble and a cold scoop slowly melting over the top. You could go classic with vanilla bean ice cream, serve it with whipped cream or dollop cream, or pour over thick vanilla custard to make it even more comforting.

Now get cooking

With our handy recipe and tips above, it’s so easy to make this apple and rhubarb crumble or give it your own twist to make it your way. Want more ideas? Check out our must-try crumbles, including a cheat’s crumble that’s ready in just 15 minutes. Plus, find more tips for what to make with apples. Your next nostalgic apple dessert could be our classic apple cake or Curtis Stone’s apple & cinnamon custard cake, perfect served warm with cream or ice cream. For a different way to enjoy apple and cinnamon, try our apple pie with cinnamon swirl pastry. Keen to keep it healthy? Snack on homemade cinnamon apple chips or wholesome apple and oat muffins.