Blackberry and apple crumble recipe

Making this blackberry and apple crumble recipe is a great excuse to get out and about into the garden and hedgerows to pick your own blackberries. Kids love bringing home the juicy berries for this recipe – as long as you can resist eating them all on the way back!

A cluster of blackberries on a stem.

Ingredients

These amounts will serve four people.

For the filling

  • 8 tbsp butter
  • 2 cooking apples, peeled and chopped
  • 8 tbsp caster sugar
  • 2 lemons, zest only
  • 200g/8oz blackberries

For the crumble topping

  • 200g/8oz butter
  • 100g/4oz caster sugar
  • 100g/4oz brown sugar
  • 200g/8oz plain flour
  • lightly whipped double cream, to serve

Technique

  1. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4.
  2. For the filling, heat the butter in a frying pan over a medium heat, add the apple, sugar and lemon zest and fry for 4-5 minutes, or until the apple has softened to a pulp.
  3. Add the blackberries and warm through for 1-2 minutes, then set aside.
  4. For the crumble topping, pulse all of the crumble topping ingredients together in a food processor until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.
  5. Spoon the filling mixture into the base of a gratin dish and spread to form an even layer. Scatter the crumble topping over the top.
  6. Transfer the crumble to the oven and bake for 10-12 minutes, or until the crumble topping is golden-brown and the filling is bubbling.
  7. To serve, place a portion of the blackberry and apple crumble into the centre of a serving plate and spoon the whipped cream alongside.

Tips on blackberry picking

When to pick: You can usually pick blackberries from August to November, with the best picking in September and October.

Where to pick: It’s best to pick from hedgerows away from roads, where fruit can be polluted. Don’t pick from too low down, where dogs may have been. Make sure you simply take the ripe fruit and don’t actually cut the plants. Take care not to rip your clothes or scratch yourself on the thorns!

What to take: Take a handful of containers so that each person can have their own pot. Old margarine tubs work better than plastic bags, which might squash the blackberries.

How to prepare the blackberries: Blackberries don’t last more than a day or so in the fridge. Then, on the day you want to eat them, give them a good clean by submerging them in a bowl of water for 10 minutes or so, so that any bugs float to the surface. Then drain them through a colander or a sieve.

Thankyou to the BBC for this recipe and to bhsher for the lovely photo.