blackberry crumble on the farm

Each time I make crumble I think of my first few weeks of Uni & living out of home. A friend from uni called in & I was pleased to offer him some apple crumble I'd made with an oaty topping - very improvised. I'd never looked at a recipe for crumble & it was pretty ordinary really. I applogised to my friend but it wasn't until after he'd eaten it that my mature-aged uni friend kindly told me he trained as a chef before doing teaching. 

I didn't make another crumble until I found this - my favourite crumble recipe - for peaches or nectarines. (http://missmayblossom.blogspot.com.au/2012/01/just-desserts.html?m=1) 

J & the kids were out in the paddocks for the morning. They had the biggest grins on their faces when they returned with a shopping bag full of blackberries. 

They'd put on their long sleeved tops & trousers to protect them from the thorny bushes with gifts of black gold. Yum! 

I was kicking myself that I didn't have my scrap book with my crumble recipe in it when I realised is probably posted it on my foodie blog (missmayblossom.blogspot.com) and there it was! 

You may wonder how I managed to bake a crumble in a caravan but the truth is I used an oven that's in the shed on the farm although I do have an oven in my caravan. (Virtual tour to come). 

I turned those tasty morsels in to a jammy apple & blackberry crumble. 

ingredients

filling

shopping bag full of blackberries

5 large Granny Smith apples 

1.5 cups raw sugar

1 cup of water

crumble topping

1/3 cup brown sugar 

1 tspn baking powder

1 tspn each ground ginger & mixed spice 

3 tblspn flaked almonds (I didn't have any this time but I do recommend them)

60g unsalted butter, chilled and chopped into 1cm cubes 

100g plain flour

Preheat oven to 200°c. In a saucepan over a medium heat place 1.5 cups raw sugar and a cup of water before adding five green apples (cut into 2cm cubes with the skins on. Cook the apples until soft. 

In the meantime make the crumble topping by mixing sugar, baking powder, ginger & mixed spice. Stir in the flaked almonds. Crumble butter in to mixture to form pea-sized pieces then toss the flour mixture with the sugar mixture. 

{Note: I wouldn't want to make this topping in the Thermomix as it can easily be overworked & needs to be kept coolish but I do love that I can easily weight the ingredients on top of the bowl.}

Once the apple is soft add the shopping bag full of blackberries. Stir for three minutes over the heat before transferring to a pie dish. I liked to keep the form of the blackberries. 

Strew topping over fruit. Bake at 200°c for 25-30 mins until the topping is golden brown & the fruit is bubbling through at the edges. Serve with cream or ice cream.