Apple crumble

Apple crumble is the best-known version of the crumble, a simple topping spread over fruit in place of pastry. The Oxford Companion to Food describes it as a topping for fruit dishes with no bottom crust, made from flour, butter and sugar, sometimes with a little spice.

The butter is rubbed into the flour and sugar until it forms coarse, uneven grains rather than a solid layer. The mixture is scattered over sliced, sweetened apples in a baking dish and baked until the fruit is soft and bubbling and the top is golden and crisp.

The same reference notes that crumble recipes do not appear in older English cookbooks and seem to date from the twentieth century, probably the Second World War, when cooks used whatever fat was available. Apple crumble is traditionally served warm, often with custard or cream.