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Mary Berry Apple and Pear Crumble Recipe

Mary Berry Apple and Pear Crumble Recipe

Mary Berry's apple and pear crumble combines the tartness of Bramley apple with the gentle sweetness of Conference pear under a golden, buttery crumble.
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Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Resting Time 5 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 10 minutes
Servings: 6 Portions
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: British
Calories: 450
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • Apple and Pear Filling:
  • 500 g Bramley apples peeled, cored, in 3cm chunks
  • 400 g Conference pears peeled, cored, in 3cm chunks — ripe but firm, tossed immediately in juice of ½ lemon
  • 100 g soft light brown sugar — adjust to taste
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon
  • ¼ tsp ground cardamom
  • ¼ tsp ground ginger
  • Zest of ½ unwaxed lemon
  • 2 tbsp water
  • Crumble Topping:
  • 175 g plain flour
  • 75 g rolled oats
  • 175 g cold unsalted butter in small cubes
  • 125 g demerara sugar
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 50 g flaked almonds
  • Pinch of fine salt
  • To Serve:
  • Warm vanilla custard clotted cream, or crème fraîche

Method
 

  1. Preheat oven to 190°C / 170°C fan / Gas 5. Butter a deep 28x20cm dish generously.
  2. Toss pear chunks in lemon juice immediately after cutting. Add Bramley chunks to the dish. Add sugar, spices, lemon zest, and water — toss gently. Taste and adjust sugar.
  3. Rub cold butter into flour, oats, cinnamon, and salt — rough, uneven crumbs with pea-sized pieces remaining. Add demerara and flaked almonds — stir through. Do not rub further.
  4. Scatter crumble loosely over filling. Do not press down.
  5. Bake 40–45 minutes until deeply golden and filling bubbles at the edges. Rest 5 minutes. Serve warm.

Notes

Toss pears in lemon juice immediately after cutting — pears discolour far faster than apples.
Use ripe but firm pears — fully soft pears collapse to purée during baking.
The cardamom is the detail that makes this specifically elegant — a quarter teaspoon, no more.
Flaked almonds in the crumble toast beautifully and give a more sophisticated appearance.
Soft light brown sugar in the filling suits the Bramley-pear combination better than white.
Freeze assembled before baking for up to 3 months.
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