Apple & Blackberry Crumble and Cardamom Custard
Crumble is one of the easiest bakes you can make. You can use all kinds of seasonal fruit. This version combines tart apples and blackberries with a crunchy topping made with oats and roughly chopped hazelnuts.
Serve with homemade cardamom custard – or, if you want to keep things really simple, softly whipped cream works beautifully too. You could also use vanilla custard instead of the cardamom version.
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Ingredients
For the filling:
• 700g tart apples (e.g. Bramley or Jonagold)
• 200g blackberries, rinsed
• 3 tablespoons sugar
For the crumble topping:
• 100g plain flour
• 125g cold unsalted butter
• 100g sugar
• 50g porridge oats
• 50g roughly chopped hazelnuts
For the cardamom custard
• 500ml whole milk
• 50ml double cream
• 3 cardamom pods (or a vanilla pod if making vanilla custard)
• 4 large free-range egg yolks
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 2 teaspoons cornflour
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Method
APPLE & BLACKBERRY CRUMBLE
Preheat the oven to 190°C. Grease a rectangular baking dish (approx. 30×25cm) with butter.
Peel, core, and chop the apples into chunks. Place them in the baking dish with the blackberries. Sprinkle over the sugar and toss gently to combine.
For the topping, cut the butter into cubes. In a large bowl, mix the flour and sugar, then add the butter and rub it in with cold hands until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. (You can also use a food processor – just pulse briefly so it stays crumbly and doesn’t turn into dough.)
Stir in the oats and chopped hazelnuts.
Sprinkle the topping evenly over the fruit mixture.
Bake for 30–35 minutes until golden brown and bubbling.
Serve warm, at room temperature or cold, with the cardamom custard, whipped cream, yoghurt or vanilla custard.
CARDAMOM CUSTARD
In a small saucepan, combine the milk, cream, and cardamom pods. Gently heat until just below boiling point. Turn the heat to low and allow to infuse for about 5 minutes – do not let it boil.
Meanwhile, whisk the egg yolks, sugar and cornflour together in a bowl until smooth.
Remove the cardamom pods from the milk, then slowly pour the warm milk into the egg mixture, whisking constantly.
Return the mixture to the pan and heat gently, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon until thickened. Do not let it boil – if you have a thermometer, keep it below 80°C to prevent curdling.
Serve the custard warm or chilled alongside your crumble.