Healthier Low-Sugar Apple Crumble
At this time of year, in my part of the world, there are apples everywhere. You only have to walk down the street and you will pass a box, basket or bag of them with a sign next to them urging you to help yourself. People are giving them away left, right and centre. Not having the pleasure of owning an apple tree myself, I am a very willing recipient of them. To me, an apple cooking is the ubiquitous smell of autumn, and I often have something apple based in the fridge for most of the season. For some reason, each year I tend to hone in on one item. Some years it may be a pie, other years it’s apple butter, similar to apple sauce but more heavily spiced and cooked for much longer so that you end up with a smooth, dark, spicy spread that is gorgeous on bread or stirred into cake batters.
pies
Cooking time: 55 min
You’re going to need:
- 4 medium sized cooking apples
- 90 g granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- 2 tablespoons level flour
- 75 g unsalted butter
- 165 g plain flour (wholemeal or white your choice)
- 55 g rolled oats
- 110 g sugar
- 70 g finely chopped nuts
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- Pinch of salt
Instructions:
- Preheat the oven to 200°C
- Peel and core the apples then slice or dice to your preferred size (I go for about a 2cm square dice, if you prefer big chunks of apple cut them into larger chunks or thicker slices). Add the sugar and cinnamon, and the flour if you don’t want the apples to be too juicy. Stir together and place into your dish (see notes) pouring over any sugar cinnamon mixture that doesn’t cling to the apples.
- Melt the butter on the hob or in the microwave.
- Mix the rest of the ingredients together then stir in the melted butter.
- Now stir in 50ml of cold water. The mixture should look clumpy and all the flour and oats should be damp.
- Sprinkle the topping over the fruit then place in the oven and cook for 35-40 minutes. The topping should be golden and the apples soft and gently bubbling.