Braeburn apple and berry crumble

Tamara West

I enjoy a comforting fruit crumble when there is a decent cold bite in the air. I look forward to it all day and can’t stop thinking about the sweet fruit, warm spice, crunchy topping and rich hot custard. My take on this humble classic is to have all the components cooked in advance. It’s great, as it takes the pressure off on the night and all of it can be made a day or two before. Simply reheat and build.

Ingredients

6	Braeburn apples (Main)
½ cup	Sugar
¼ cup	Water
3	Cloves, whole
100 g	Butter
100 g	Flour
75 g	Brown sugar
15 g	Coconut, long thread
¼ cup	Walnuts
1 cup	Mixed berries, frozen (Main)

Custard

½ cup	Cream
½ cup	Milk
4	Eggs, yolks only
3 Tbsp	Sugar
½ tsp	Pure vanilla extract

Directions

1. Peel, core and slice the apples into a pot, add sugar, water and cloves, simmer gently with a lid on until apple is soft. Remove whole cloves and allow to cool.
2. Make the crumble topping by rubbing the butter into the flour with your fingertips, stir in sugar, coconut and walnuts. Spread on a non-stick baking sheet and cook for 10 minutes or until golden brown. Once cool, crumble into small chunks and keep in an airtight container.
3. To serve, mix berries with stewed apples and place in the microwave — reheat until boiling hot, stirring the mixture from time to time, spoon into individual glasses and top with crumble. Serve with homemade vanilla custard, below.

Homemade vanilla custard

1. Heat milk and cream until boiling.
2. Whisk egg yolks with sugar and vanilla extract, pour over the boiling milk and cream.
3. Tip this mixture back into the pot and on a low heat. Gently stir until it begins to thicken. Serve hot.