Blackberry & Apple Crumble Cake
Submitted by hale
A British-style crumble cake with a buttery almond and cinnamon base, a layer of stewed blackberries and apples, and a golden crumble topping. Warm, fruity, and brilliant served with cream or custard.
YIELD
12 servingsPREP
30 minCOOK
60 minREADY
90 minPart crumble, part cake, entirely brilliant.
A buttery base made with ground almonds, flour, and a whisper of cinnamon gets pressed into a springform pan, then topped with a thick layer of blackberries and apples that have been gently stewed with lemon and sugar until just soft.
The remaining crumble mixture gets scattered over the fruit so it bakes into golden, craggy clusters.
Whole almonds dotted across the top finish the look, and the whole thing is lovely served warm with pouring cream or cold with a cup of tea.
Kitchen Tips
- Use tart cooking apples like Bramleys. Eating apples will go mushy and lose their shape.
- The arrowroot thickens the fruit filling so it doesn’t make the base soggy. Don’t skip it.
- Press the base dough gently into the pan. It’s crumbly by nature, so just push any cracks together with your fingers.
- Let it cool in the springform for 10 minutes before releasing the sides for a clean presentation.
Variations
- Swap the blackberries for raspberries or a mix of hedgerow berries when they’re in season.
- Add a handful of rolled oats to the crumble topping for extra crunch.
- Serve warm with vanilla custard for a proper British pudding.
Ingredients
Directions
Peel, core and slice cooking apples and place in a pan with blackberries, sugar, lemon juice and rind and 45 ml water.
Simmer gently for 10 minutes until the fruit is just softened.
Add arrowroot mixture and stir until thickened.
Cool.
To make the base and topping, blend together butter and sugar in a processor unti soft and fluffy.
Add beaten egg, baking powder, ground almonds, flour and ground cinnamon and process until just crumbly.
Turn mixture into a bowl.
Grease and line a 23 cm springform pan.
Turn out ⅔ of the crumble mixture onto a floured surface and knead gently together to combine.
Use to cover base of prepared pan, simply pushing any cracks together.
Spread cooled blackberry and apple mixture over base.
Sprinkle reserved crumble mixture evenly over fruit topping and decorate with whole almonds.
Bake at 350℉ (180℃) for 50 minutes until pale golden.
Serve warm or cold.
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