Welcome Autumn With The Yummiest Homemade Apple Crumble Recipe🍏

Hi Honeys,
How are you today? Can you believe it's September already? Yesterday was (a little later than usual) harvest day for the apples from our little apple tree in the back garden so, of course, it was time for crumble making😋

This year hasn't been a "normal" year at all, has it honeys?  What with the lock-down and everyone shielding and now wearing masks everywhere, it's been a year of entirely new normals, it feels like.

As if they could sense what was happening, the roses in the garden appeared but weren't as bright as always and didn't fill our garden with their usual burst of colour.  In the back garden too, we had a much smaller harvest from our much loved little apple tree this year too...

Do you remember last year's apple harvest honeys?

We were certainly blessed last year, I couldn't believe how many apples there were when we started taking them down from the tree.

**How To Clean And Store Harvested Apples To Make them Last - Click Here**

This year though, it really does feel as if our beloved wee garden can feel the sorrows in the world.  From forty two apples (not counting the ones eaten by our much loved feathery visitors) last year to only ten this year.

This is a later harvest than previous years too because we wanted to let them have as much time on the tree as we could.  As you can see, for Bramley apples, some of them are quite small. All of them treasured though honeys.  I'm so grateful to have them.

There are quite a lot of images in this post dear ones, why not go grab a cuppa (and maybe a cookie) and meet me back here in a few minutes so we can chat (and make some crumbles) see you after the page break (just press the read more link) see you in a mo honeys x

Welcome back dear ones.  Do you have your cuppa?  Cool, me too☕😊 

Each year, the apples are brought into the kitchen, they're washed and stored to make sure we have lots of lovely apple treats for months to come but since there were only ten this year, I decided to wash and use them up all at once.

Of course honeys, that means it was time for crumbles 😍😋 So the apples were washed, peeled and sliced and this happened...

Crumbles! 😃 Into the oven they went and around half an hour later, the kitchen was full of the heavenly scent of cooking apples and we had three, yummy crumbles...

As we speak, the larger crumble is waiting in the fridge and the other two are in the freezer.  Two special treats, waiting for a day in need of a wee bit of special 😍💖

Crumbles are so easy to make, and not only a wonderful treat, they're also a perfect comfort food for rainy days, or why not make a huge, tray bake version and share the smiles 💗

Let's welcome autumn then honeys, let's head to the kitchen, grab our pinny and get baking💖  Let's make a super yummy crumble.  Not an apple fan? Why not try a rhubarb crumble, a pear crumble or a mixed berry crumble instead?

Heavenly Apple Crumble To Welcome Autumn🍏 

Ingredients: 

4 or 5 medium apples - washed, cored & peeled

85g caster sugar - enough to coat your apple slices (or any other fruit such as rhubarb... yum! love rhubarb crumble!) so that the fruit is ever so slightly coated in the sugar.

1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon (optional) to add to the sugar before coating the apples.

Approx 2 teaspoons of cold water

For the crumble topping: 

175g plain flour 

75g sugar - I like to use demerara sugar for my crumble toppings if I have it but honestly honeys don't fret about it.  I've used plain old granulated sugar if that's all I had and it's been equally delicious. 

85g (unsalted) butter, chilled - straight from the fridge.

Directions:

1.  Pre-heat your oven to 180C (160 for fan oven) or 350F or Gas mark 4

2.  Wash, peel & core your apples.  Place fruit into an ovenproof dish, layering it evenly across the bottom of the dish.

3. Sprinkle sugar (mixed with your teaspoon of ground cinnamon if you've chosen to add it) across the top of the fruit... 

Then, very gently, shake the dish until all of the sugar has coated the fruit.  Add a little cold water - not a lot! Just around 2 teaspoons will be enough for a family crumble.  If you'd rather, use two spoons to move the apples slices around the dish until all coated.  Set to one side. 

4.  Into a mixing bowl add your flour and chilled butter, which has been cut into small pieces. Mix together until it resembles breadcrumbs.  Add sugar and mix through until combined.  I vividly remember Home Economics classes, during my schooldays (yes, I can remember that far back lol) being really yelled at by my teacher because I couldn't bare to combine the flour and butter with my hands.  The idea of it!!

Does anyone else hate, hate, hate getting their hands icky?  Honestly, I can't bare it.  Even as a child, I was never one of those children who played in sand or made mud pies (ewwwwwww!!!) I've always understood perfectly why Dexter's Mother wore her gloves every waking minute in the cartoon Network cartoon Dexter's Laboratory 😊

**How To Open An Oxo Cube Without Getting Icky Fingers Or Oxo Mittens - Click Here**

Back to our crumbles then honeys (focus Rosie! 😃)

If you have a food processor, just add the flour, butter (cut into small pieces) and sugar all at once and mix until it resembles breadcrumbs.  It won't take any time at all and saves on ouchy shoulders from mixing (and icky hands!)

5.  Lay your crumble mix evenly over the top of your sugar coated fruit mixture, I use a fork, or sometimes a spoon, to spread it around the top until it looks even...  

Very carefully, place your crumble into the pre-heated oven, on the middle shelf, and bake for 30-35 minutes until the topping is golden in colour and the fruit is bubbling.  You should be able to (again, very carefully, to avoid being burnt) poke a knife into the crumble and the fruit should be very soft.

6.  Allow your crumble to cool a little and then serve (hot or cold) with cream, natural yogurt, custard, ice cream or even just eat on its own 😋😍

7.  Enjoy!

Crumble is a perfect comfort food and ideal for birthday treats too.  Why not make a huge "tray bake" crumble in a roasting dish (such as a turkey tin) to share with loved ones?

Wishing you a wonderful, smile filled new week honeys and, till next time, sending mountains of (socially distanced but heart felt none the less) hugs always xx