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My friend Margaret grew up in England, and she says that if you serve apple crumble with ice cream at a British table, somebody will quietly get up and go make the custard. Crumble is the national pudding there. Polls about Britain’s favourite dessert come back with it at or near the top year after year, and Margaret says that is because it came out of hard times. During the war, butter and flour were rationed, and there was rarely enough for a proper pastry crust. So cooks rubbed what little fat they had into some flour and sugar and scattered the rough crumbs over the fruit. It turned out better than the pie it replaced, and it never left.
Margaret is also very firm that crumble is not an American crisp. Hers has no oats and no nuts. It is only flour, cold butter and sugar, rubbed together with the fingertips until it looks like rough breadcrumbs, piled over sliced apples with a little sugar and cinnamon, and baked until the juice bubbles up through the cracks and the top turns golden and crunchy. Then comes the custard, made on the stove from milk, egg yolks, sugar and vanilla, hot and pale yellow and poured from a jug over every bowl. This page gives you both, with her measurements.
Why this apple crumble works
- Rubbed in, not stirred. Rubbing cold butter into the flour with your fingertips makes a sandy, crunchy topping that bakes crisp.
- No oats. A plain flour crumble is lighter and more buttery; oats make it a crisp, which is a different pudding.
- A deep layer of apples. The fruit cooks down, so it should start piled high.
- Apples left peeping through. Where the juice bubbles up, it caramelizes on the crumble edges.
- Real custard. A stirred egg custard is thin enough to pour and soaks into the crumble the way cream never does.
Ingredients
Serves 6 generously, baked in an 8x8 inch or 2 quart dish. The measurements are in US cups with grams in brackets, the grams being Margaret’s British weights.
For the apples
- 6 medium apples, peeled, cored and sliced (about 1 3/4 pounds, 800g)
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar (50g)
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
For the crumble
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (190g)
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar (100g)
- 1/4 teaspoon fine salt
- 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cubed (140g)
For Margaret’s custard
- 2 cups whole milk (480ml)
- 4 large egg yolks
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar (50g)
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Margaret uses a mix of tart cooking apples and sweeter eating apples: in the US, Granny Smith with Honeycrisp or Gala works well. Tart apples break down into a soft sauce, sweet ones keep their shape.
How to make apple crumble
Crumble
- Heat the oven to 375 degrees (190°C). Butter an 8x8 inch or 2 quart baking dish.
- Toss the apple slices with the sugar, cinnamon and lemon juice and pile them into the dish.
- In a bowl, mix the flour, sugar and salt. Rub in the cold butter with your fingertips, lifting and letting it fall, until it looks like rough breadcrumbs with a few pea-sized pieces.
- Scatter the crumble evenly over the apples. Do not press it down. Leave a few apple slices peeping through at the edges.
- Bake at 375 degrees for 35 to 40 minutes, until the top is golden and the juice is bubbling up thickly around the edges. Let it rest 10 minutes.
Custard
- While the crumble bakes, heat the milk in a saucepan until steaming but not boiling.
- In a bowl, whisk the egg yolks, sugar and cornstarch until pale. Pour in the hot milk slowly, whisking all the time.
- Pour it all back into the saucepan and stir over low heat with a wooden spoon for 5 to 8 minutes, until it thickens enough to coat the back of the spoon. Do not let it boil. Stir in the vanilla.
- Pour the custard into a warm jug and serve it hot over bowls of crumble.
Tips that make the difference
- Keep your hands cool when rubbing in. If the butter starts to get greasy, chill the bowl for 5 minutes.
- Set the dish on a baking sheet. The juice will bubble over the rim.
- If the custard looks slightly lumpy, pour it through a sieve and it will be smooth again.
- To keep custard warm, lay a piece of plastic wrap on its surface so no skin forms.
Variations
- Apple and blackberry. Margaret’s autumn favourite: add a cup of blackberries to the apples.
- Rhubarb. In spring, use chopped rhubarb with a little more sugar.
- Brown sugar crumble. Use light brown sugar in the topping for a deeper, toffee taste.
- Quick custard. If time is short, serve with warm heavy cream, though Margaret will not approve.
Storage and make-ahead
Cover leftover crumble and refrigerate for up to 3 days. Reheat in a 350 degree oven for 15 minutes to crisp the top again.
Refrigerate custard separately with plastic wrap on its surface for up to 2 days and warm it gently, stirring.
You can freeze unbaked crumble topping in a bag for up to 3 months and scatter it straight from frozen over fresh fruit.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between a crumble and a crisp?
A British crumble topping is flour, butter and sugar rubbed together. An American crisp usually adds oats and often nuts, which makes it crunchier and chewier.
Why do the British serve crumble with custard?
Custard is the traditional British pudding sauce. Margaret says hot custard soaking into a crunchy crumble is the whole point of the dish.
Why is my crumble topping soggy?
Too much juice and too little topping, or the topping was pressed down. Scatter it loosely and bake until the edges bubble thickly.
Can I use store-bought custard?
You can, but homemade takes ten minutes while the crumble bakes and tastes of real eggs and vanilla.
Flour, butter, sugar and apples, and a jug of hot custard. Margaret says that is all Britain ever needed on a cold Sunday.
British Apple Crumble with Homemade Custard (Margaret's Way)
Traditional British apple crumble the way Margaret makes it: a rubbed-in topping of flour, butter and sugar with no oats over cinnamon apples, baked at 375 degrees, served with hot homemade pouring custard. US cups with grams.
Ingredients
- 6 medium apples, peeled, cored and sliced
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon fine salt
- 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cubed
- 2 cups whole milk
- 4 large egg yolks
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 375 degrees (190°C). Butter an 8x8 inch or 2 quart baking dish.
- Toss the apple slices with the sugar, cinnamon and lemon juice and pile them into the dish.
- In a bowl, mix the flour, sugar and salt. Rub in the cold butter with your fingertips, lifting and letting it fall, until it looks like rough breadcrumbs with a few pea-sized pieces.
- Scatter the crumble evenly over the apples. Do not press it down. Leave a few apple slices peeping through at the edges.
- Bake at 375 degrees for 35 to 40 minutes, until the top is golden and the juice is bubbling up thickly around the edges. Let it rest 10 minutes.
- While the crumble bakes, heat the milk in a saucepan until steaming but not boiling.
- In a bowl, whisk the egg yolks, sugar and cornstarch until pale. Pour in the hot milk slowly, whisking all the time.
- Pour it all back into the saucepan and stir over low heat with a wooden spoon for 5 to 8 minutes, until it thickens enough to coat the back of the spoon. Do not let it boil. Stir in the vanilla.
- Pour the custard into a warm jug and serve it hot over bowls of crumble.
