So, we have leftovers for dinner from last nights Tagine. A perfect excuse to make a pudding... there may not be enough leftovers to satisfy our hunger needs and i feel like i cant go a night without cooking! I will also be trying to make fresh custard for the first time too!

I love making fruit crumble because it seems too good to be true, its easy, and so versatile. I like to stick to apples and berries personally. We have an orchard in the garden (which reminds me, pruning is on my to do list!) so we usually have an abundance of apples in the summer. Being winter, i have some leftover that i bought this week for a pork casserole I'd done earlier in the week.
I like to keep frozen berries in the freezer too, mainly they were for smoothies i had whilst pregnant and I'd forgotten they were there. But there are brambles all over Jersey and so in late summer there are usually loads of fresh blackberries to choose from.

I've written down the amounts of ingredients below but they are just estimates as i just add by eye. If the crumble seems too dry, add more butter. If it seems too fine, add more nuts and oats. This is the first time I've added the bicarb of soda and baking powder as a friend suggested it today to make the crumble "fluffier". We'll see!

You will need:
  • 125g Plain flour
  • 75g Oats (i use porridge but you can use any you have in the cupboard)
  • 75g Crushed or chopped nuts (crush under a tea towel with a rolling pin)
  • 50g caster sugar
  • 100g unsalted butter
  • 1/4 tsp bicarb of soda
  • 1/4 tsp baking soda
  • 3 x large bramley apples, cored and chopped
  • 150g frozen berries
I like to do things slowly in our kitchen so i had a bowl of water with a squeeze of lemon in it ready for my chopped apples. This will stop them from going brown if your not using them straight away and with a 4 month old baby, things get done slowly as i never like to be in a rush! I think if i had to rush dinner for a certain time every night then it wouldn't be enjoyable anymore. Its also nice to know that the family will try anything once so I'm trying new recipes all the time.

Measure out your four, sugar, bicarb, baking powder, oats & nuts. Mix them well together then add your butter. It will be easier to rub it all together if your butter is cubed. Get messy with your hands and rub it all together till its nice and crumbly.

Get a pan on the hob and pop your apples in with a little of the water they've been resting in. Let them cook on a medium heat for about 10 minutes till they go a bit mushy round the edges but not too much so they turn into apple sauce! You can sprinkle on a bit of sugar if you like but i don't like to put too much in because i like the fruit to be quite tart. The custard will sweeten it all up!
Add the berries to the pan but not for too long, maybe 2 minutes to soften them up. Pile the fruit into the dish and pour over the crumble mix.

Put the dish into your oven at about 160 degrees for a fan oven for 30 minutes, check at this time and then leave in for a bit longer if its not golden enough!

YUM!
I'm so chuffed the custard worked too. I'd heard so many custard horror stories of eggs separating and ending up with sweetened scrambled eggs that I'd been putting it off for a long time but this recipe works a treat!



First ever fresh custard DONE.