Apple and Blackberry Crumble

Apple and blackberry crumble is a popular English dessert made with apples and blackberries and baked in a buttery crumble topping. Learn how to make this warm and cozy dessert.

this recipe

Ingredients

• Granny Smith/ Cooking Apples. I used 5 small-medium-sized granny smith apples but you could use a few larger apples if that is what you have on hand. You just want to make sure your apples are sliced into ½" pieces.
• Blackberries. You can use fresh blackberries or frozen blackberries, if using frozen do not thaw ahead of time. You really could add any other frozen berries if that is all you have on hand; raspberries, blueberries, or strawberries.
• Light Brown Sugar. The sugar will just sweeten the fruit, if your fruit is extra sweet then you could reduce the sugar.
• Cornstarch. Adding some cornstarch to the filling will help thicken it and along with the sugar and lemon, you'll end up with an almost jammy-like sauce around the fruit.
• Lemon. You'll just need the juice of one medium-sized lemon.

For the crumble topping you will need:

• All-Purpose Flour. Just plain flour is needed for the crumble topping.
• Salt. Adding a bit of salt helps enhance all of the other ingredient flavor profiles.
• Light Brown Sugar. You could use white granulated sugar if that is all you have but I enjoy the warmth you get from the molasses in the brown sugar.
• Oats. I love using rolled oats but you can use quick-cooking oats too.
• Roasted Walnuts or Pecans. The crunch of nuts adds a great contrast to the crumble. I use a combination of whatever I have on hand but walnuts and pecans are my favorite.
• Cold Unsalted Butter. You will rub the butter into the crumble mixture.

I grew up with no spices added to our blackberry apple crumble but you could add a teaspoon of ground cinnamon or ground nutmeg if you want.

For ingredient quantities please reference the recipe card below. On the recipe card there is a button for US or M (Metric) measurements.

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 375F/190C and get a 9-inch or 10-inch baking dish ready.

Peel and cut your apples into half-inch pieces.

Place them in a large bowl with the blackberries, light brown sugar, cornstarch, and lemon juice. Mix until fully combined. Pour into baking dish.

In a large bowl mix together all-purpose flour, rolled oats, salt, brown sugar, and nuts. Next, add the chunks of butter and use your hands to rub the butter into the dry mixture. It is ready when you have a thick coarse meal texture.

Sprinkle over apple mixture and bake for 35-45 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and the fruit is bubbling up the sides. I use an instant-read thermometer to check the internal temperature has reached at least 175F/79C. Let cool for at least 20 minutes before serving. Best served with heavy cream, Birds custard, or ice cream.

I adore a big bowl of crumble with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. The hot/ cold combo is my favorite.

How to freeze

Apple and blackberry crumble can be frozen before baking or after baking.

You can assemble the whole dish and freeze it until you are ready to bake, I would avoid using a glass or ceramic dish if you do this, as glass and ceramic do not do well with drastic temperature changes. I would use a metal baking pan if you are going to freeze it all ahead of time, when you go to bake the crumble you'll need to add some extra time maybe 30 minutes or so depending on how long it has been frozen, if the top is browning too quickly then cover it in foil halfway through as it begins to brown.

You can also just make the crumble topping, I often make extra topping and freeze the leftover for the next crumble.

If you want you can bake the crumble let it cool completely then cover it in plastic wrap tightly, twice, then once in foil. When ready to bake take the plastic wrap off but put the foil back on then bake at 325F for one hour or so, until the center is warmed through again.

Can you double

You can totally double this recipe and make two crumbles or one really large one in a 9X13 baking pan. In the recipe card below you can press the 2X button to double the ingredient quantities.

More apple recipes

This Dutch apple pie recipe is always a crowd favorite because it's a pie and a crumble in one!

For an absolutely delicious show-stopper check out this easy apple-layered cake!

If you want something not so sweet then check out this apple frangipane tart.

★★★★★ Please let me know if you make this recipe by leaving a star rating and comment below!

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