Apple crumble with cinnamon and nutmeg: a classic autumn dessert. Simple to make, it’ll be ready in an hour. A great way to use up some of those tasty baking apples. Apple crumble is a classic British dessert that never goes out of style. It is one of those desserts that has been around for generations and will continue to be baked for generations. Once you know the cheat code to making the perfect apple crumble, it will become a thing of beauty in your home.

Apple Crumble

This apple crumble is made with apples tossed in sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger and covered with an oat and brown sugar top. An easy fall dessert.

The perfect apple crumble. Each of us tends to carry within us—consciously or unconsciously—a terrifically precise notion of what it ought to be. Oats or just buttery floury sugary goodness. Spices permeating both the apples below and the crumble atop or just one or the other. Nuts or no nuts. Whatever apple crumble means to you, we get it. And we respect it. And we still think you ought to try this apple crumble recipe, which has captured the hearts of many, many who’ve tried it.

Apple Crumble

This apple crumble is made with apples tossed in sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger and covered with an oat and brown sugar top. An easy fall dessert.

Prep30 mins

Cook1 hr

Total1 hr 30 mins

Dessert

American

8 to 12 servings

419 kcal

INGREDIENTS USMETRIC

For the crumble topping

• ▢1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• ▢1 1/4 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
• ▢1 1/4 cups firmly packed light or dark brown sugar
• ▢1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ▢1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
• ▢12 tablespoons unsalted cold butter cut into small cubes

For the apple filling

• ▢4 pounds apples (9 to 12) assorted varieties, peeled, cored, and cut into 1/2 inch slices
• ▢1/4 cup granulated sugar
• ▢1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• ▢2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• ▢1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• ▢1/4 teaspoon finely grated fresh ginger
• ▢2 tablespoons all-purpose flour (20 grams) or quick-cooking tapioca (20 grams)
• ▢1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
• ▢Vanilla ice cream for embellishing (optional but really necessary)

DIRECTIONS 

Make the crumble topping

• Preheat the oven to 375°F (191°C) and adjust a rack to the middle of the oven.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, rolled oats, brown sugar, cinnamon, and teaspoon salt. Add the butter and, working with your fingertips, a fork, or a pastry blender, combine the mixture until the crumbs are pea-size. You’ll have more than you need so you can stash half the mixture in a resealable bag and place it in the freezer for another crumble on another day.

Make the apple filling

• Toss the apples in a large bowl. Add the granulated sugar, lemon juice, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, flour or tapioca, and salt and gently toss to combine.

Bake the apple crumble

• Spoon the filling into a baking dish, ideally one that’s 11 inches by 7 inches but a dish that’s 9 inches by 13 inches will also work as will a couple 9-inch square baking dishes. Spoon the remaining topping evenly over the fruit filling. Place the baking dish on a rimmed baking sheet lined with foil to catch any spills. Bake until the fruit is bubbling and the top is nicely browned, about 1 hour. If the top begins to brown too quickly, loosely cover it with a sheet of foil.
• Let the apple crumble rest for maybe 15 minutes. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream, if desired.

APPLE & CINNAMON CRUMBLE

When you ask someone what flavors and scents they might associate with fall,many might say things like nutmeg, cinnamon and apples.  These flavors just go hand in hand with the season.  This Apple & Cinnamon Crumble has all of these flavors and more.

I knew though, that I wanted to try and make something that would fall into the desire September brings for all things APPLE.  I found a couple of apple recipes on Corina’s blog, but settled on this Crumble.  I make apple crisp year round, as my kids adore it.  I was curious to see how her dessert varied from mine.  My kids thought it was neat to have their own individual dessert, and were immediately “mmmm’ing” as they ate.

This recipe was fun to make and enjoyed by all!

I did change up a few things on this recipe, but kept the main idea.  I added the Craisins, and a little more spice, and made them in individual portions.  

YIELD: 4 SERVINGS

APPLE & CINNAMON CRUMBLE

Baked in these individual ramekins, these apple cinnamon crumbles make a great dessert with flavors of fall.

PREP TIME10 minutes

COOK TIME20 minutes

TOTAL TIME30 minutes

INGREDIENTS

• For the inside:
• 3 Tablespoons of water
• 3 apples, peeled, cored and cubed
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon cloves
• 1/3 cup Craisins
• For the Crumble:
• 2/3 cup flour
• 3 Tablespoons cold butter
• 1/4 cup sugar
• a sprinkling of cinnamon and cloves

INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, prepare 4 large ramekins with non-stick cooking spray and set aside.

In a saucepan over medium heat, combine apples and water and cook until apples are becoming tender. Stirring often. (about 10 minutes)

When apples are desired tenderness (remember they will continue to bake in the oven) add the spices and the Craisins. Stir to combine.

Divide evenly between ramekins.

In a small bowl, with your fingers crumble the butter, flour and sugar together until butter is incorporated.

Divide evenly over the tops of the apples in each ramekin.

Sprinkle lightly with cinnamon and cloves.

Bake for 20 minutes and serve warm with vanilla ice cream.

**Be careful, ramekins stay hot for a while.**

NUTRITION INFORMATION:

YIELD:

 4 

SERVING SIZE:

 1
Amount Per Serving: CALORIES: 319TOTAL FAT: 9gSATURATED FAT: 6gTRANS FAT: 0gUNSATURATED FAT: 3gCHOLESTEROL: 23mgSODIUM: 73mgCARBOHYDRATES: 60gFIBER: 6gSUGAR: 36gPROTEIN: 3g

SPICED APPLE CRUMBLE

This Spiced Apple Crumble is the ultimate comfort food for cold weather. Soft apples and juicy sultanas, infused with warming spices, and a layer of crunchy buttery crumble – just add some warm custard and you’re in heaven! I adore all the spices that are prevelant during the colder months and I wanted to add them to this crumble to make it extra cosy and delicious. This apple crumble is so easy to make too, once assembled it’s just a matter of snuggling under a blanket and waiting for it to bake!

INGREDIENT TIPS & EQUIPMENT INFORMATION

• You can use either unsalted butter or a baking spread for the crumble topping.
• Mixed spice is a British spice blend containing Cinnamon, Coriander Seed, Nutmeg, Clove, Pimento, Ginger. If you can’t get hold of it, use a Pumpkin Spice mix instead.
• I really recommend using light brown soft sugar if you can, as it gives the crumble a lovely caramel flavour. But if you can’t get hold of it, you can use golden caster sugar or regular caster sugar (superfine sugar) instead.
• I like to add a bit of wholemeal flour into my crumble mix for texture and goodness, you could replace it with porridge oats, ground almonds, or the same amount of regular plain flour.
• Although I provide cup measurements, I highly recommend weighing your ingredients out using digital kitchen scales*. It is the most accurate way to measure ingredients and will ensure the best results. Digital scales are very low cost and can be purchased for around £12 ($16.50) .
• For teaspoon (tsp) and tablespoon (tbsp) measurements, please use measuring spoons* and not the type of spoons you eat with. Again this will ensure accuracy and provide the best results.

HOW TO MAKE SPICED APPLE CRUMBLE

For the crumble, mix the light brown sugar, plain wholemeal flour and plain flour together. Add butter and rub it in with your fingers until it looks like breadcrumbs.

Peel and core the apples, and chop them into small pieces. Mix them together with sultanas, light brown sugar, cinnamon, mixed spice, nutmeg and cornflour. Add the apple mix to a baking dish, then spread the crumble topping over the fruit and bake it for 45 minutes until golden and bubbling.

WHAT CAN YOU SERVE APPLE CRUMBLE WITH?

• Custard – either warm or cold!
• Ice cream, ideally a good quality vanilla one
• Creme fraiche
• Whipped cream
• Natural yoghurt

WHAT ARE THE BEST APPLES TO USE FOR APPLE CRUMBLE?

It’s best to use either cooking apples, which are the very large and bulbous apples you’ll find in the shop. Or, use an apple variety that is both crisp and tart, for example Granny Smith, Jazz or Pink Lady. Golden Delicious will also work well. Or if it’s apple season and you have an apple tree, it’s a great way to use some of them up!

DO YOU NEED TO PEEL THE APPLES?

I definitely recommend at minimum coring apples for apple crumble, however peeling them is not necessary if you are in a rush. Although, I do much prefer them peeled and it’s more enjoyable to eat the crumble without apple peel, especially if the apple variety you use has a tougher skin.

WHAT SIZE DISH CAN YOU MAKE THIS APPLE CRUMBLE IN?

The dish I used was 32.5 x 19 x 8 cm. It didn’t reach the very top of my dish so you can use a slightly smaller one. I wouldn’t recommend using a much bigger one as your layers of apple and crumble will be thinner, and the crumble may brown too much on top before the apples are cooked through.

CAN THIS RECIPE BE MADE GLUTEN OR DAIRY FREE?

Yes, for a gluten free version replace the plain flour and plain wholemeal flour with a gluten free plain flour blend. Cornflour (also known as cornstarch) is naturally gluten free, however please do check the packaging in case of cross contamination. For a dairy free version, replace the butter with a dairy free butter. This recipe is already egg free.

MORE TIPS FOR MAKING THE SPICED APPLE CRUMBLE:

• You can make the crumble topping by hand or using a food processor, just make sure if you are using a food processor not to over mix it.
• You can freeze the uncooked crumble mix in a ziploc bag, you can also freeze the baked apple crumble in the freezer in sealed tubs. I recommend portioning it out before freezing.
• The sultanas are optional, so if you’re not a fan then leave them out.