Whether we call it a crumble or a crisp, a layer of juicy apples and berries is topped with a buttery streusel in this fabulous recipe that can be frozen or made ahead. The ultimate crowd-pleasing fruit dessert.
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Apple crumble (or crisp as it's also known) is the first recipe I ever made, guided by my grandmother. I wrote it down in my binder and make it to this day. This apple blackberry crumble is a twist on the original.
It was more intuitive than exact, and I've always made fruit crumbles that way. I feel the crumble and know if it needs more butter or sugar.
And the same with the fruit; sometimes I add an extra layer of sugar and lemon, and sometimes I don't.
But don't worry, I'm giving you a step-by-step recipe for the perfect apple berry crumble. And some variations. Because it's a great idea to adjust recipes and make them our own.
What is a fruit crumble?
It's a wonderful dessert with a fruit layer and a crunchy topping made with butter, sugar, and flour. There are as many variations as there are fruits.
- Oats: our crumble has oats and almonds for extra flavor and texture.
- Ratio: you can make the topping more crunchy or more crumbly. Add more sugar it will caramelize more, have a more golden color, and have extra crunchiness. As opposed to using more flour and having a crumblier, paler-looking topping.
Watch our step-by-step videos
The apples
- Granny smith: these are my favorites by far because they are acid enough to balance out the butter and sugar used in the recipe. But of course, you can use your favorite baking apples. I know many seasonal ones are delicious.
- Cutting them: you can slice them thicker or thinner. Take into account that very thin slices, such as the ones I use in this recipe where I used a mandoline, will bake softer than thicker ones which will remain crunchier. It comes down to personal taste; some people like very soft apples in their desserts, while others, like my father, will only eat this dessert if the apples are still firm.
How to make a fruit crumble
Fruit - can be fresh or sometimes frozen, as with berries. Make sure you cut or chop it so it can be eaten only with a spoon. We don't want to be cutting fruit after it is served to us.
Add the sliced apples to the buttered baking dish. Scatter the berries. Drizzle lemon juice and sprinkle brown sugar over the fruit.
Sprinkle the crumble on top of the fruit, leaving some spots uncovered on the edges. Bake as instructed in the recipe card below.
Vintage Kitchen tip: the crumble mixture can be made ahead and kept refrigerated for a week or frozen for a month. The dessert itself can be baked several hours before you plan to serve it. Reheat it in a 350°F/180°C oven until warm, about 15 minutes.
Family style desserts
fruit crumbles and crisps are baked in ceramic or glass dishes and then taken to the table. They are not removed from the pan. Similar to dump cakes. So choose a nice baking dish you like to showcase on the table.
What type of dish to use
For me, ceramic ones are the best (I use my favorite small Emile Henry ceramic dish or large Emile Henry rectangular dish whenever possible). There are several rectangular ceramic dishes, porcelain bakeware sets, glass baking dishes, or round ceramic baking dish that work.
Variations
- Fruit: use peaches or nectarines instead of apples. They pair wonderfully with berries. Or use just one type of berry.
- Crumble: the basic one involves butter, sugar, and flour. This recipe today has oats and almonds that give it a great crunch, but they can be omitted and extra flour used. Or change the almonds for walnuts or pecans.
- Serving: you can bake it in one large pan as we did today or use individual ramekins. Warm with a dollop of whipped cream or ice cream is everybody's favorite. Innovate the ice cream flavor, maybe ginger or butter pecan ice cream.
Kitchen notes
- Organization: read the recipe first and ensure you have ingredients at the correct temperature, equipment, and enough workspace. This will make the process so much easier!
- Baking time: keep in mind that all ovens and pans are different, even if they look the same or very similar. The baking time in my recipes is as accurate as it can be, but it might take you more or less time. You can use a thermometer(like the OXO oven thermometer) to check that your oven is at the right temperature. I recommend you keep track of how your oven works and what tiny details you might need to adjust.
- Make ahead: the crumble can be made ahead and kept refrigerated for a week or frozen for a month. The dessert can be assembled for several hours and up to 2 days before you plan on serving it. Reheat it in a 350°F/180°C oven for about 15 minutes or until warm.
- Sweetness: you can add 2-3 extra tablespoons of sugar to the fruit layer if you like sweeter desserts. Or use orange juice instead of lemon.
- Last-minute dessert: always have frozen berries and crumble topping in the freezer. That way, you can assemble a fabulous fruit crumble in no time. You don't even need to cut up fruit. Dessert is ready in 40 minutes!
Related recipes you might like:
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Apple Berry Crisp
A fantastic fruit dessert. A layer of juicy apples and berries is topped with a buttery crumble in this easy recipe that can be made ahead.
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 8 servings
Ingredients
For the crumble topping:
- ¾ cup all-purpose flour
- ½ cup regular oats
- ¾ cup sliced or chopped almonds
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- Pinch of salt
- ½ cup unsalted butter, cold, cut into pieces (plus some extra to butter the dish)
For the fruit layer:
- 1 ½ pounds (¾kg or about 5) Granny Smith apples
- 2 cups mixed berries (fresh or frozen)
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (about ½ lemon)
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350°F /180°C.
Have ready a 9-13 inch ovenproof ceramic or glass dish. Butter it and reserve.
Prepare the apples:
- Peel and core the apples.
- You can dice the apples (as seen in the photos in the post above) or cut them in quarters and slice them.
Make the crumble:
- In a large bowl add flour, sugar, and salt and mix to combine.
- Add cold butter and work it with your hands or pastry cutter until you have pieces the size of peas. Some of the mixture will be sand-like with very small butter pieces.
- Mix in the oats and almonds until you have a lumpy mixture trying not to completely break the almonds. At this point, you can cover it and refrigerate for a few days or freeze it.
- You can also mix flour, sugar, salt, and butter in a food processor and then transfer to a bowl and mix the oats and almonds.
Assembling:
- Put a layer of apples in the buttered dish.
- Top with the fresh or frozen berries.
- Sprinkle with the brown sugar and drizzle with the lemon juice.
- Cover the fruit with the crumble. It will be uneven, rustic looking and maybe parts in the sides will not be completely covered. That is fine.
- Bake for about 40 minutes, until the top is golden and fruit is bubbling.
- Serve warm with whipped cream or ice cream.
Notes
- Organization: read the recipe first and ensure you have ingredients at the correct temperature, equipment, and enough workspace. This will make the process so much easier!
- Baking time: keep in mind that all ovens and pans are different, even if they look the same or very similar. The baking time in my recipes is as accurate as it can be, but it might take you more or less time. You can use a thermometer(like the OXO oven thermometer) to check that your oven is at the right temperature. I recommend you keep track of how your oven works and what tiny details you might need to adjust.
- Make ahead: the crumble can be made ahead and kept refrigerated for a week or frozen for a month. The dessert can be assembled for several hours and up to 2 days before you plan on serving it. Reheat it in a 350°F/180°C oven for about 15 minutes or until warm.
- Last-minute dessert: always have frozen berries and crumble topping in the freezer. That way, you can assemble a fabulous fruit crumble in no time. You don't even need to cut up fruit. Dessert is ready in 40 minutes!
- Sweetness: you can add 2-3 extra tablespoons of sugar to the fruit layer if you like sweeter desserts. Or use orange juice instead of lemon.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: â…›
- Calories: 405
- Sugar: 31.2 g
- Sodium: 24.7 mg
- Fat: 22.4 g
- Carbohydrates: 49.2 g
- Fiber: 6.1 g
- Protein: 4.4 g
- Cholesterol: 45.8 mg
Keywords: apple berry crumble
Sonly says
I would like your opinion on topping with Frangipane instead because most of my guests eat gluten free pastries. The Frangipane is made put of almond flour so I'm wondering how the combination would taste.
Paula Montenegro says
Hi Sonly! There's a gluten-free cherry crumble topping in the blog.
Frangipane alone might work but my opinion is not to use a lot of it as it's quite dense and heavy. You can also substitute the flour in this crumble recipe for almond flour. That should work too.
Jeri Wilcox says
Our son-in-law, who is also a talented baker, brought this over, still warm, to share after a meal we could finally share as a family, vaccinations done for Grandma and Grandpa! It was absolutely delicious, with a definite old-style taste and texture. I added whipped cream, but no to excess, as a little bit was all it needed to balance the sweet-sour flavor of the apple, blackberry and blueberry fruit mixture. I highly recommend, as this will be a crowd-pleaser. I also like the option of freezing the crumble topping. It would make for a great cobbler, I think.
★★★★★
Paula Montenegro says
Happy to hear you all enjoyed it as a family Jeri! And thanks for leaving such a thoughtful comment. Have a great week!
Phil C says
Although you mention the option of making individual crumbles (using glass ramekin dishes), you do not mention whether this would effect the oven temperature (180'C) and / or the cooking time (40 minutes)?
Given that ramekin dishes are considerably smaller, is it reasonable to reduce the cooking time to 20-25 minutes? Should the oven temperature also be reduced?
Thank you.
Paula Montenegro says
Hi Phil, the temperature remains the same but yes, the baking time will be less. Between 20-30 minutes depending on the size and the depth of the ramekin. Start checking at 20 minutes. Hope this helps.
Stevenson Inge says
with all that butter my crumble turned into a greasy dough,how can I turn that into crumble?
Paula Montenegro says
If you don't like those proportions, add more flour/oats/sugar.
Meira says
The apple berry crumble was fantastic!!!
Paula Montenegro says
So happy you liked it!
Jeff the Chef @ Make It Like a Man! says
Sounds (and looks) delicious!
angiesrecipes says
Can't resist anything with crunch topping! This looks so delicious.
Juliana says
What a delicious and incredible easy dessert!
★★★★★
Earl Williams says
Excellent narrative and recipe that I MUST make this weekend. Thanks for sending it all the way to New Mexico, USA. (Not all Americans are stupid and crazy - but too many are)
Thank you very much
★★★★★
Paula Montenegro says
Glad you like it Earl!