The Perfect Apple Crumble for a Cosy Night in

There is nothing better than a cinnamon-ny apple crumble baking away in the oven, the whole house smells like an autumn dream.

Daisy picked apples from the tree in our garden at the weekend and I surprised her when she got home from school with a homemade apple crumble. The first moment she walked through the door, she knew there was a treat in store.

For me, the best bit about an apple crumble is the cinnamon caramelised goodness of the apple, mixed with a crunchy blend of toasted oats and nuts. For me, the more nuts the better, so even though I've put measurements below, be generous and enjoy yourself! I use a combination of walnuts and pecans. The buttery flavour of the pecans goes so well with the sweetness of the apples and with my kids, the rule is, the more crumble the better. So I always throw in a bit more oats than I need.

Another thing to note is that you can make this with frozen apples. They will go abit mushy, but nothing too unreasonable. I cut, peeled and cored so many apples and froze a load of them for another crumble. It came out just fine and there were no complaints at all!

Best Cinnamon Apple Crumble with Pecans, Oats, and Walnuts

Ingredients

For the Apple Filling:

• 4 large apples (preferably Granny Smith, but I just used my garden Apples - God knows what they are!) - Peeled, cored, and sliced

• 2 tablespoons organic brown sugar

• 1 1/5 teaspoon of ground cinnamon

• 1 tablespoon of lemon juice (I didn't have any lemons the first time I made this, so don't panic, as long as you're eating this on the same day!)

• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg (optional)

  
  

For the Crumble Topping:

• 100 g (1 cup) rolled oats

• 60 g (1/2 cup) pecans, chopped

• 60 g (1/2 cup) walnuts, chopped

• 60 g (1/2 cup) whole wheat flour (or gluten-free flour)

• 50 g (1/4 cup) organic brown sugar

• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

• 60 ml unsalted butter cut into chunks, not too cold, you want to be able to mix this in without too much effort (but don't worry too much if you only have salted butter - just admit the salt below)

• 1/4 teaspoon salt

  
  

Instructions

Prepare the Apple Filling:

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C.

2. In a large bowl, combine the cut apples, brown sugar, ground cinnamon, lemon juice, and nutmeg (if using). Toss until the apples until they are well coated in the mixture.

3. Transfer the apple mixture to a greased 9x13 inch (23x33 cm) baking dish.

   
   

Make the Crumble Topping:

1. In a separate bowl, mix together the rolled oats, chopped pecans, chopped walnuts, whole wheat flour, organic brown sugar, ground cinnamon, and salt.

2. Add butter chunks into the oat mixture and rub into the mixture until nice and crumbly.

   
   

Assemble and Bake:

1. Evenly distribute the crumble topping over the apple filling in the baking dish.

2. Bake in the preheated oven for 30-35 minutes, or until the apples are tender and the topping is golden brown.

3. Let it cool for a few minutes before serving.

   
   

Serving Suggestions

• Serve warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or custard. I made homemade custard for the first time and it was actually incredibly easy. You can either give this a go or pick some up from the supermarket.

• Drizzle with a little honey or maple syrup if desired.

  
  

Enjoy your healthy and delicious cinnamon apple crumble!