Reporter: Welcome to our kitchen today, with Michael Clarkson, a food aficionado from the UK! He'll be showing us how to make apple crumble, one of Britain's best-loved homemade desserts. Michael, first of all, tell us briefly about this dish and what ingredients do we need?
Michael: One of my favorite desserts is apple crumble, not apple pie—apple crumble. I much prefer the crumble.
For apple crumble, you’ll need about 6 medium apples. They should be peeled, cored, and sliced. Two tablespoons of sugar—but be careful with the sugar; watch your health there. One tablespoon of ground cinnamon is always good, some lemon juice, and a tablespoon of flour or cornstarch to make the apple filling. Now the crumble has got to be crumbly—apple crumble crunchy on top. So you'll need about 150 grams of flour and some brown sugar, I guess about 100 grams, some cold butter in small cubes, and a pinch of salt. And if you like it even crunchier, then add some rolled oats as well. That's all you need to make the apple crumble. So let's look at how to do it.
Reporter: Now that we've had all the ingredients, it's time to put everything together. Let's begin by preparing the apples and building the delicious layers that make apple crumble such a comforting dessert.
Michael: Your oven: preheat it to 180 degrees. And while the oven is heating, get your apples prepared—slice them, line the bowl, add the cinnamon, sugar, lemon juice, and flour, and stir everything in together until the apples are evenly coated. Then transfer the mixture into a baking dish and spread it out evenly across the bottom, and this forms the fruit layer for the crumble. Of course, we then need the crumble, and that's the topping.
Reporter: The fruit layer is now complete, so it's time to add the finishing touch. Let's make the crumble topping that will create that irresistible golden crust everyone loves.
Michael: So to make the topping, place the flour, the brown sugar, and the salt in a separate mixing bowl. Add the butter, rub it all in together into the flour using your fingertips. You rub it like this. We use our fingertips to rub it and continue until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. If you're using oats, stir them in at this stage. Then sprinkle the crumble evenly over the apples. Make sure the apples are completely covered; don't leave any gaps, but don't press it down. Keep it loose, and that will help create a crisp, crumbly texture.
Reporter: Now that the crumble is fully assembled, all that's left is to bake it. Pop it into the oven and, before long, your kitchen will be filled with the irresistible aroma of baked apples and buttery crumble.
Michael: Then place the baking dish in a preheated oven and bake for about 35 to 40 minutes. I guess my sister Christine would go for 40 minutes because she likes it nice and crumbly. Then the crumble is ready, and when the topping is golden brown and the apples are soft and bubbling around the edges—bubbling being the important word—you're just about done.
Once baked, remove the dish from the oven and allow it to cool for about 10 minutes; you don't want to eat it too hot. This will help, and it also helps the filling thicken slightly. Then serve the apple crumble warm.
Reporter: Your apple crumble is now ready to enjoy! But before we wrap up, Michael has a few favorite ways to serve it, along with some simple tips to make this classic dessert even more delicious.
Michael: You can have it on its own, but me—I prefer ice cream, custard, maybe whipped cream, maybe Greek yogurt. Ice cream first, custard second, whipped cream or Greek yogurt afterwards. For the best flavour, use a combination of sweet and tart apples. Keeping the butter cold will also help create a crisp topping, and if the crumble starts to brown too quickly during baking, loosely cover it with some aluminum foil. You can add some chopped nuts—why not?—peanuts, walnuts, and pecans, for extra crunch. And this recipe will serve about 6 to 8 people. Takes about 15 minutes to prepare, 40 minutes to bake, 10 minutes to cool down, and then a fantastic dessert to end your meal with. Enjoy!
Reporter: That sounds wonderful! Thanks so much, Michael, for sharing your delicious apple crumble recipe with us today. And to all our listeners, we hope you'll give it a try at home. Thanks for tuning in to VOV24/7's Food Delight. Catch you next time!
