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    Home » Recipes » Desserts

    Published: Sep 13, 2022 by Paula Montenegro · Income from ads and affiliate links 13 Comments

    Apple Berry Crumble

    Jump to Recipe
    Apple Berry Crumble Collage (1)

    Whether you call it a crumble or a crisp, a layer of juicy apples and berries is topped with a buttery crumble in this fabulous recipe that can be frozen or made ahead. The ultimate crowd-pleasing fruit dessert.

    Top view of white ceramic rectangular dish with apple berry crumble on a wooden board. A silver spoon inside.

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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.

    Table of Contents Hide
    What is a fruit crumble?
    How to make a fruit crumble
    Family style desserts
    Variations
    Kitchen notes
    Related recipes you might like:
    Easy Apple Berry Crumble

    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.
    Two stacked white bowls with apple berry, wooden board with whole pan and kitchen towel in background.

    Watch our video tutorials 👇🏻

    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.

    Diced apple in a rectangular white dish on a white marble surface.

    Add the diced or sliced apples to the buttered baking dish.

    Layers of berries and apple on a white rectangular ceramic dish on a white surface with other bowls around.

    Scatter the berries over the apples, distributing them evenly.

    Sugar sprinkled over berries and apple pieces in a white ceramic dish on a white surface.

    Drizzle lemon juice and sprinkle brown sugar over the fruit.

    Unbaked fruit crumble in a white ceramic dish. Close up image.

    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 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.

    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.

    Close up of white ceramic dish with apple berry crumble and a silver spoon.

    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.
    Single white bowl on a white surface with serving of apple berry crumble.

    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:

    • Chocolate Apple Crisp
    • Easy Strawberry Crisp Recipe
    • Apple Blackberry Crumble
    • Raspberry Apple crumb bars

    Let me know in the comments below if you made this recipe and loved it and if you had issues so we can troubleshoot together. I love to hear what you think, always. Thanks for being here. It's much appreciated.
    You might also consider subscribing to our FREE email series to Boost your Home Baking Skills! And our regular newsletter.
    And let's connect via Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest.

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    Partial view of eaten fruit crumble on a rectangular white dish with a silver spoon inside.

    Easy Apple Berry Crumble

    ★★★★★

    5 from 3 reviews

    Print Recipe
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    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

    Units

    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
    • ¾ 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:

    1. Peel and core the apples.
    2. 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:

    1. In a large bowl add flour, sugar, and salt and mix to combine.
    2. 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.
    3. 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.
    4. 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:

    1. Put a layer of apples in the buttered dish.
    2. Top with the fresh or frozen berries.
    3. Sprinkle with the brown sugar and drizzle with the lemon juice.
    4. 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.
    5. Bake for about 40 minutes, until the top is golden and fruit is bubbling.
    6. 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. 
    • Author: Paula Montenegro
    • Prep Time: 20 minutes
    • Cook Time: 40 minutes
    • Category: Dessert
    • Method: Baking
    • Cuisine: American

    Nutrition

    • Serving Size: ⅛
    • 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

    Did you make this recipe?

    Tag @vintagekitchenblog on Instagram and hashtag it #vintagekitchenblog

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    About Paula Montenegro

    I'm Paula, a baker for more than 30 years and your designated recipe developer, sharing the best ones here with simple ingredients + easy-to-follow instructions.

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    Comments

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    1. Jeri Wilcox says

      March 21, 2021 at 5:06 pm

      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.

      ★★★★★

      Reply
      • Paula Montenegro says

        March 21, 2021 at 11:22 pm

        Happy to hear you all enjoyed it as a family Jeri! And thanks for leaving such a thoughtful comment. Have a great week!

        Reply
    2. Phil C says

      February 01, 2021 at 6:32 pm

      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.

      Reply
      • Paula Montenegro says

        February 01, 2021 at 6:42 pm

        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.

        Reply
    3. Stevenson Inge says

      September 11, 2020 at 7:26 am

      with all that butter my crumble turned into a greasy dough,how can I turn that into crumble?

      Reply
      • Paula Montenegro says

        September 11, 2020 at 8:57 am

        If you don't like those proportions, add more flour/oats/sugar.

        Reply
    4. Meira says

      January 16, 2020 at 5:55 am

      The apple berry crumble was fantastic!!!

      Reply
      • Paula Montenegro says

        January 16, 2020 at 7:58 am

        So happy you liked it!

        Reply
    5. Jeff the Chef @ Make It Like a Man! says

      June 29, 2019 at 12:48 pm

      Sounds (and looks) delicious!

      Reply
    6. angiesrecipes says

      June 29, 2019 at 1:44 am

      Can't resist anything with crunch topping! This looks so delicious.

      Reply
    7. Juliana says

      June 28, 2019 at 7:48 pm

      What a delicious and incredible easy dessert!

      ★★★★★

      Reply
    8. Earl Williams says

      June 28, 2019 at 11:07 am

      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

      ★★★★★

      Reply
      • Paula Montenegro says

        June 28, 2019 at 1:44 pm

        Glad you like it Earl!

        Reply

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    A baker for more than 30 years and your designated recipe finder, sharing the best ones on this blog, with simple ingredients + easy-to-follow instructions.

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