Ingredients
Method
- Make pastry — pulse to crumbs, add egg yolk and cold water, wrap and chill 30 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 190°C / 170°C fan / Gas 5. Roll to 3mm — line 23cm tart tin. Prick. Chill 20 minutes. Blind bake 15 minutes. Remove beans — bake 8 minutes until pale and just dry.
- Cook Bramley apples with sugar, cinnamon, ginger, and lemon zest over medium heat 8–10 minutes until collapsed into a thick purée. Remove from heat. Fold in Cox pieces and cornflour. Cool 15 minutes.
- Rub cold butter into flour, oats, cinnamon, and salt — rough uneven crumbs with some pea-sized pieces. Add demerara — stir through.
- Spoon cooled apple filling into pastry case — spread evenly. Scatter crumble topping loosely over — do not press.
- Bake 30–35 minutes until crumble is deep golden and filling bubbling at edges. Cool in tin 20 minutes. Serve warm with custard.
Notes
Cook Bramley to a purée before adding Cox pieces — gives both texture and body in the filling.
Cool filling 15 minutes before adding to the pastry case — hot filling softens the pastry.
Use sweet shortcrust — icing sugar and egg yolk give a more tender, more appropriate dessert pastry.
Scatter crumble loosely — do not press. Pressed crumble bakes dense and doughy.
Cool in tin 20 minutes before cutting — the pastry case holds everything together.
Freeze with filling in the pastry case — add crumble and bake from frozen.
