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Freshly Picked Blackberry and Apple Crumble

Apple and Blackberry Crumble

I have been meaning for quite a while to blog a recipe which uses blackberries – we have a whole ice cream tub full left over from last year, and the blackberry season is already upon us! Blackberry and apple crumble being one of my favourite desserts I felt I couldn’t justify not doing this recipe first. Since this is a blog about frugal food and blackberries are free for almost everyone, they are everywhere after all, this seems like an ideal ingredient to use.

Everyone should really be going blackberry picking at this time of year, I can almost guarantee that just around the corner from most people’s houses, even if you live in a city, is a blackberry bush in some form. They really are ridiculously common, and there isn’t anything quite like freshly picked fruit!

I was wondering what everyone’s preference for crumble topping was? Usually we have a basic flour, sugar and butter mix – which is amazing – but this time I thought I’d try the increasingly popular oat version. It’s healthier, more filling and tastier yet it is only a smidge more expensive than what one would otherwise pay. However, there are so many more toppings to be had, so what are the preferences of my readers?

Blackberry and Apple Crumble

Serves 10-12

Ingredients:

• Two large Bramley apples

• Several handfuls of freshly picked blackberries

• 1-2 tablespoons of golden caster sugar

For the oat topping:

• 200g plain flour

• 100g porridge or rolled oats

• 150g golden caster sugar

• 150g butter

Method:

1. To make the filling, peel and chop up the apples into slices around 1cm thick. Add these to a splash of water and the sugar in a sauce pan. Cook for a few minutes on a medium heat before adding the blackberries and cooking for a further 2 minutes.

2. Pre-heat the oven to 180C. To make the topping rub together the butter, sugar and flour until it can form a ball as pictured. Add the oats and mix together thoroughly until they look like large breadcrumbs.

3. Layer the ingredients in a large oven dish, fruit first with the crumble topping unsurprisingly on top. Do this as evenly as possible. Cook in the oven until golden, this should take 10-15 minutes.

Cost: This recipe makes a very large crumble and will cost a very reasonable £1.70. Of course if you have to buy blackberries, which I advise against, this will cost a little more – hence the advice.

60 replies on “Freshly Picked Blackberry and Apple Crumble”

Looks great, I usually prefer without oats but I might be tempted to try with oats again after seeing this! Interesting that you form a ball with your crumble mix first – I usually rub the fat into the flour and then stir in the sugar (but I am lazy)!

Love crumbles, but around here, we don’t have blackberries…which is unfortunate, as they are one of my faves, and are too expensive to justify buying at the store. Aah, well, we’ll have to settle for raspberry or rhubarb or serviceberries, instead…

I do like the oat topping best, myself.

Looks great. It’s a shame blackberries don’t grow by the side of the road here in Australia like they do in the UK – makes them a bit more expensive. Perhaps I could use frozen raspberries for this instead (as they are out of season here at the moment).

Oh my goodness! This looks amazing.

I like the oat crumble best. Oats are one of those good-for-you foods. Eventually I’d like to brainstorm a way to make the crumble even healthier – with less butter and sugar maybe.

I love blackberries! Unfortunately they are a bit difficult to come by around these parts, and even so, only when you’re willing to pay a pretty penny for them! I bet this was dynamite – there’s nothing quite so simply delicious as a fruit crumble. Yum!

One of my favourite ever recipes, love blackberry season, my slight adjustment to your recipe is to add ground almonds, gives a bit of extra crunch and toasty nuttiness to the crumble
I always remember my dads crumble fondly even though the crumble was like eating sawdust it was so dry
great blog and lovely photos
cheers
marcus

My friend said to add ground almonds, but i’m also trying to make my recipes cheap and ground almonds are relatively expensive. This crumble is very crunchy though, definitely not like eating sawdust.

I had no idea how easy getting a hold of some fresh and free blackberries would be, even here in Nevada. For the crumble I prefer the flour mix, not only is it cheaper.. it’s yummier! Great post!

I love crumbles and crisps, and this one looks lovely! You have a very nice, and well thought out blog and I really like the apple header, did you draw it? I’m enjoying reading and will continue to pop back in, plus, I do believe in good doses of frugality in life and feel it makes one think and eat more creatively!

Blackberries are one of my favourite things and I love that anyone can just pick them (provided they grow in your area!) Vancouver is loaded with blackberry bushes. And by substituting honey for sugar (with a bit of know how), this can be a totally local food recipe too. Eating well CAN be frugal…thanks for the great post!

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