Friday, April 20, 2007

Fish and Quips

Last year for St. George's Day, we were asked What's for Pud? - this year Sam sent us on a far more earnest quest to show that English food isn't a joke.

You've got to love a nation that turns having a cup of tea into a fine art, a cuisine that's resplendent in lard and dripping and real butter and not to mention clotted cream. A cuisine that turns stale bread into heavenly bread and butter pudding or can turn simple cake and jelly into the Trifle of your dreams - this is a cuisine to be saluted.

As it's supposed to be Autumn here and the nights are getting cooler, there is a quintessentially English dessert that we swear by - served with a dollop of double cream and still warm from the oven, you just can't beat Apple Crumble.

As Paalo is the resident Englishman he is quite strict on his crumble criteria and does insist of a most generous layer of crumble so do bear that in mind with this recipe - you can always add more apples ;)

crumble

Apple Crumble
[Serves 8-10]

8 medium sized Granny Smith apples
2 tablespoons soft brown sugar
4 tablespoons golden syrup
juice of half a lemon

Topping:
220 grams self-raising flour
75 grams shredded coconut
100 grams rolled oats
200 grams soft brown sugar
200 grams butter, melted

Prepare the apples:
Peel and quarter the apples, cutting out the core and cutting into thick slices. Toss them through the lemon juice to stop them from discolouring.
Place the soft brown sugar, golden syrup and apple mix into a saucepan. Cover, and cook on a low heat until the apples have just softened.

Spoon this mixture into a shallow baking/casserole dish.

Prepare the crumble:
In a large bowl, add the flour, coconut, rolled oats and brown sugar. Stir this to ensure it's well combined. Make a well in the centre and pour in the melted butter. Continue stirring until it's been absorbed and all the ingredients are moistened.

Take handfuls and sprinkle over the apples to form a level topping.

uncooked

Bake in a preheated 180°C/350°F oven for about 30-45 minutes or until golden brown.

cooked

You can eat it hot from the oven, warm or even cold - better yet, try all the ways and find out which way you enjoy the most!

inside

Looking inside you'll see those lovely apple juices, some of which will have bubbled up over the sides and the crumble that is wonderfully crisp yet chewy, it's depth giving you a greater level of textures and experiences.

cream

To fully indulge in the experience, a generous blob of double or clotted cream is a must! One bite and you'll no longer be joking about English food.

Tagged with

18 comments

  1. Who wouldn't splurge on a dessert like this? I know I would!

    Delicious, Haalo!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Such a lovely golden brown of your crumble, yum!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I absolutely adore apple crumble. I remember first learning (and eating) it in my Year 7 Food Economics (ie. cooking) class. I then proceeded to make it at least once a week for the following year :-) I haven't made it in ages though, so I must whip out my old cook book and give it a go.

    ReplyDelete
  4. What a well-done apple crumble! I love the crumble, must be delicious!

    Haalo, thanks so much for advice on spelt flour. I made your spelt foccacia yesterday and it was soooo good! It disappeared really quickly, I could not even take the photo. Now I am really impressed by the magic "spelt"!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Woah, check out that crumb-a-licious dessert! Looks like just the thing for these chilly Autumn nights!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Just the look of that clotted cream leaves me wanting to make it...absolutely gorgeous.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Thanks Patricia!

    Thanks Angie - you have to have that combination of crunchy and chewy in the crumble topping!

    It's such a great dessert Mellie - and I can see why they get you to make it in the home ec classes, it's a perfect way to get you hooked into cooking!

    Thanks Anh - so happy to hear that you're enjoying the pleasure of Spelt - it's very difficult to go back and use regular flour.

    It's perfect weather for it today Ellie!

    ReplyDelete
  8. its looks like the perfect thing to make when u want to spoil some one.....really really warm and comfort and ....i'm running out of things to describe it.Its got such a wonderful evern colour to it as well.....honey why dont u come spoil me with that ....:-))))

    ReplyDelete
  9. Go British food! The crumble looks delightful Haalo, although as you said I would go for less crumble and more apple. I reckon Bramley apples would make this pud even more quintessentially British, if such a thing is possible. Clotted cream is indeed a must with this dessert.

    Your photo makes me want to lick my monitor ;-)

    ReplyDelete
  10. Thanks Kate - you've done a wonderful job of describing the crumble, makes me want to rush out and make another!

    Thanks Trig - I'll take the licking as a sign of success! As I was slicing the granny smiths it did occur to me that I should have tried to find some Brambleys but you know here in the colonies we just have to make it our own;) The cream I found was superb and I must do a post on it - you know it's good when you can take a heaped spoon out and turn it upside down and the cream doesn't drop!

    ReplyDelete
  11. I want to lick my monitor too but since Trig beat me too it that might be considered double-dipping so I had better not. Your crumble indeed looks beautiful. We used to have very thick crumble toppings when I was growing up. It must be an English thing.

    Thanks for taking part os beautifully.

    Sam

    ReplyDelete
  12. Thanks Sam - there's plenty of crumble (and cream) to go round so there's no need to double dip ;)

    ReplyDelete
  13. I agree that there is no such thing as too much crumble topping! And this dollop of cream looks truly seductive...wonderful pictures!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Thanks Eva - the crumble is the perfect excuse to indulge in that cream!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Your apple crumble looks awesome.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Thanks Chrissa - tastes better :)

    ReplyDelete
  17. Dear Haalo,

    What a fabulous introduction to your blog - I was searching for an apple crumble recipe & discovered your treasure of recipes & photos and this amazing recipe! So I am a bit slow to catch on to the Haalo phenomenon....yes...but not too late. The crumble turned out amazingly good (my hubby loves the ratio of crumble to fruit!). I am now an avid follower!
    Many thanks, Fanoula

    ReplyDelete
  18. Thank you Fanoula, you are too kind. Glad to hear you enjoyed the crumble!

    ReplyDelete

© Cook (almost) Anything at Least Once | All rights reserved.
BLOG TEMPLATE HANDCRAFTED BY pipdig