Craig Rowe: My delicious apple crumble recipe

Hi everyone,

This has to be my all time favourite thing to bake and it's definitely a big hit with my friends and family. I even once had a friend drive down from Leeds just because I was serving it up at a dinner party!

It's a little different from most crumbles because there's far more crumble than fruit - it tends to be crunchy on top with a cookie doughie-ness underneath.

Enjoy!

Craig's vanilla and almond biscuity apple crumble

Prep time: 20 mins

Cooking time: 30 mins on 220'C (Gas Mark 7)

Serves: 6 generous portions

Ingredients:

• 10 apples (I use Granny Smith not Bramleys)
• 2 pears
• 300g of salted butter (easier if soft)
• 350g of plain flour
• 300g of Demerara sugar
• A couple of teaspoons of cinnamon
• Some dashes of vanilla extract
• A few dashes of almond extract

(I have to say I never cook using scales so the measurements are an estimate.)

How to make it:

1. Core the apples and pears and cut them into small pieces (I normally quarter and quarter again). Place these into a baking dish and sprinkle with a little sugar and cinnamon.

2. Use your fingertips (or a food processor if you have one) to combine the flour, sugar and butter. Don’t go for too long because you want the crumble to be quite chunky with big bits of buttery, sugary lumps.

3. Stir in the cinnamon, vanilla and almond.

4. Time to taste the crumble. This is where I add anything else I think is necessary - normally more sugar or vanilla!

5. Sprinkle the crumble over the apples. Make sure the crumble is twice as thick as the fruit. Finally, sprinkle some sugar and cinnamon on the top.

6. Bake in a pre-heated oven (200'C) until the top is a light golden brown. Test the apples are cooked by placing a knife into the centre. Try not to over-cook as the crumble needs to be slightly doughie on the inside!

7. If you can wait for it to cool, you've got more patience than me! I normally dive in within 5 mins of it coming out of the oven! I like to serve it with a good vanilla ice cream.

This is my lovely friend Angel who helped me make and eat my crumble - she loves it! Hope you do too.

Love Craig x

Try some of our other presenters' favourite recipes.

Comments

[Lynne Davies]

Hi Craig,

I add chocolate chips to my crumble mix, my sons love it and they are in their late 20's/early 30's.

[Angela]

I love apple crumble, and rhubarb too, which is why we have some good cooking apple trees and rhubarb crowns in the garden.

I like to cut the apples into irregular shapes or sizes, so not all are cooked to the same level, leaving you with different apple tastes and textures.

I also mix the apple pieces in fresh lemon juice and brown sugar before cooking them. I then add some sultanas and put the whole mixture, lemon juice and all, into the dish.

Finally, I sift cinnamon into the flour before adding the sugar and fat for the crumble topping.

[Lynda]

Hey craig,

I cant wait to make your apple crumble as its my family's fave so i will be making it on boxing day, thanks for the recipe.all ways watch your shows well done,have a fab christmas and a great new year and hope to see a lot more of you on QVC in 2009.

[rose preece]

sonds delicious craig well done