Yes I know this isn't dinner.
Well it could be. It could also be breakfast. In fact, it is great for breakfast, cold with really gloopy custard.
For some reason (snobbery, blatant favouritism and bias), I have never had a crumble better than Mummy Edmonds' crumble. You know what, I think the only difference between hers and everyone else's is that she throws in a few slivered almonds. I dunno, it just tastes great.
My guidelines for this blog require my dishes to be nutritionally substantial. So while this is a dessert, and like all good desserts contains my two favourites, butter and sugar, it is therefore a sometimes food or a snow-day food.
Although when we break down the ingredient list, the butter and sugar are the only two things that are deemed "bad''. The topping contains oats, almonds, coconut and flour and the filling itself is just apple and rhubarb! So it is really one of the healthier desserts you could consume.
Pair it up with custard and you can also get part of the day's calcium requirements (don't you just love how I justify custard?).
I ended up using two very large apples and one small Granny Smith plus two stalks of rhubarb for the filling. The thing with this is that you can alter your topping-to-filling ratio to suit your needs.
Usually, I only make a topping three-quarters of that listed below but the baking dish I used was a little on the large side, and crumble topping, I believe, should not be spread thinly.
You can also add whatever almonds you like. You don't even have to add them if you don't want to. You can also add up to a cup of rolled oats and coconut. I like the texture of them in the topping. They also make it go further for the same amount of butter.
Mummy Edmonds' apple and rhubarb crumble
Serves 4 (generously)
For the topping:
100g butter, softened, almost melted
¾ cup brown sugar
¾ to 1 cup rolled oats
¾ to 1 cup threaded coconut
¾ cup plain flour
½ packet (35g) slivered almonds (add more if you wish)
For the filling:
3 large apples (any variety)
2 long stalks of rhubarb (if you are a huge rhubarb fan feel free to add another)
¼ cup boiling water
1 tablespoon sugar
1 squeeze of lemon juice (totally optional. If you use Granny Smith apples you will not need the lemon juice as the acid in the apples complements the sweetness of the topping nicely)
Preheat the oven to 180degC on bake.
In a mixing bowl, rub together all the topping ingredients until all the butter lumps have been reduced to fine crumbs.
Peel and slice the apples into chunks. I sliced mine into wedges then halved those wedges (I find the apple pieces easier to eat with a spoon that way). Wash the rhubarb and then slice into 1cm-thick pieces.
Place the apple and rhubarb in a 30cmx20cm baking dish. Pour over the boiling water and lemon juice and sprinkle over the sugar.
Sprinkle the crumble topping over the filling. I tend not to pack mine down as it allows the topping to be more on the crunchy side.
Once you're happy with the distribution of your crumble topping, place the dish in the oven and bake for one hour (I recommend placing a sheet of tinfoil over the baking dish after 30 minutes to prevent the topping from going too brown). Remove the tinfoil five minutes before taking the dish from the oven.
Also, remember the smaller the dish the shorter the cooking time. Also, the cooking time may be longer if you decide to throw a bit more fruit into the filling.
Serve warm with a generous serving of custard (of course).
Enjoy!
