bramley apple and victoria plum crumble

… whilst The Viking has done incredible things with the garden here at Belleau Cottage, unfortunately it’s not very big.  This is potentially the only downside to our glorious home and something that we dream about quite often.  I’d love an extensive vegetable garden and an orchard and i’d love to keep chickens and maybe even a goat.  The Viking would simply like more land to roam around in and he’d probably let it all run wild, which I guess is also fine by me.  Don’t get me wrong, we are surrounded by stunning fields and woodlands so whilst our actual grounds are quite small the views are extensive and I kind of have the feeling that if I can see it, I own it anyway and I can always go out and roam in it.   As it happens I’m lucky enough to be surrounded by some very lovely people who are extremely generous when it comes to sharing the bounty of their own gardens and so collectively we always end up with parts of the year when the harvest yields some gorgeous stuff.  This week Ann and Mike brought me a couple of kilo’s of stunning Victoria Plums and an armful of classic bramley apples… and quite frankly there was only one thing to make…

bramley apple and victoria plum crumble
it seems as though everyone’s trying so hard to create something different from the classic crumble that the classic crumble seems to be a little neglected… and you know there will always be someone out there who’s never made a crumble… so this little gem is for them.  I like my crumble topping thick and my fruit in large chunks with still just a little bite but feel free to go as soft as you like. My favourite way to eat crumble is arctic cold from the fridge with cold cream, no custard in site but again, feeler to ruin your crumble any way you like…

this recipe is for a crumble which fits into a 21cm x 15cm oven-proof dish

for the topping
225g wholemeal flour
60g ground almonds
100g butter
120g soft brown sugar

for the filling
3 large bramley apples – peeled, cored and cut into large chunks
roughly 15 victoria plums – halved with the stones removed
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon caster sugar

pre-heat the oven to 160C

really pack the fruit into your oven-proof dish and sprinkle with the sugar and spices and place in the oven for roughly 10 minutes

meanwhile place the flours in a large bowl and rub in the butter until you have a breadcrumb texture, then stir in the sugar

once the fruit has softened slightly, carefully take the dish our of the oven and shovel the topping on top, it may seem like a lot of topping but I like it that way.  Don’t pack it down too much and then rough up the surface with your fingers or the tines of a fork

place it back in the oven and back for 20 minutes until the inside is bubbling around the edges and top is beginning to turn golden

let it cool slightly before tucking in

eat and of course, enjoy!