I took my grandmother's great apple crisp recipe, added blackberries, a few other ingredients, and ended up with a wonderful dessert, full of flavor and super easy to make! Juicy fruit and buttery crumble, it doesn't get much better than that. And it can be made ahead and frozen.
This is the first post I ever published on this blog in February 2012. It has been updated with new text, images, and a tested much better recipe.
Do you remember the first recipe you ever made?
I do, and it was the apple crisp (or crumble) that my father always requested. A very old-fashioned recipe that I tweaked and tested over the years.
Back then, there were no real measures. Watching was the way to learn. And writing everything down. We had recipe notebooks. Maybe 3 spoons of flour from a very old soup spoon, which was almost double the tablespoon measure we use now.
Well, this recipe is the result of those moments, and now it does have proper measurements, although it's a type of dessert that can still be eye-balled with great results.
What is a fruit crumble?
Whether you call it a crumble or a crisp (both are widely recognized and we all know what type of dessert we're talking about) it refers to the addition of oats or not to the buttery topping.
But that is also up for discussion apparently. So let's wing it, shall we?
With so many recipes online and such a wide variety of languages, they are used interchangeably most of the time.
- The fact is that a fruit crumble or crisp needs to have a fruit layer and a streusel topping which involves at least a mixture of butter, flour, and sugar and can be upgraded by oats, spices, and nuts.
Ingredients
Very simple ingredients as usual.
- Apples: I like granny smith because of their acidity, but your favorite baking apple will work. Keep in mind that they might be sweeter.
- Blackberries: fresh or frozen work fine for this dessert.
- Orange: tangerine works well also and lemon can be used. I like the sweetness of orange and it goes really well with blackberries (remember the Blackberry Muffin Loaf?).
- Cinnamon: ground.
- Vanilla.
- Flour: all purpose or cake flour, both work.
- Sugar: you can use white sugar or light brown sugar.
How to prepare the apples
In my experience, there are two types of apple people: those who like crisper apples and those who like softer apples. I vary between both haha depending on the recipe.
So, let's get clear on how to achieve both.
- Pre-cooked apples - you can put the apples, cornstarch, and sugar in a saucepan and cook over low heat for a few minutes until the fruit softens and some juice is released and thickens. As the apples continue to bake they will soften a lot and turn more compote-like.
- Raw apples - simply mix the apple slices with the thickening ingredients in a bowl until it's all coated and dump onto the baking dish. Or mix it directly in the baking dish, it's messier but you don't have to wash an extra bowl. Even though the apples bake in the oven they will remain crisper and less sweet.
How to cut the apples
I like to cut the apples in thin slices if using them raw, or thicker ones if cooking them before assembling the dessert. But it is really a matter of preference.
You can also dice them as we do in the apple berry crumble.
WATCH THE STEP-BY-STEP VIDEO 👇🏻
Serving
Serve it warm with a dollop of cream or ice cream on top. That will always be the best way in my opinion.
- Cream: poured cold directly from the container is the way we eat it at my house. Alternatively, whip some cold cream with sugar (find the recipe in the Strawberry Shortcake Cupcakes post).
- Ice cream: a scoop of your favorite vanilla ice cream will always be a crowd-pleaser! Butter pecan works wonders also.
Related recipes you might like:
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Old-fashioned Apple Blackberry Crisp
Whether you call it crumble or crisp, this is a wonderful dessert, full of flavor and super easy to make!
- Total Time: 55 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
Ingredients
For the fruit layer:
- 2 pounds (about 6 apples)
- ¼ cup orange juice
- Zest of ½ an orange
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract (optional)
- 1 cup blackberries, washed and dried (frozen work well, use directly)
For the crumble topping:
- 1 cup (140g) all-purpose flour
- ¾ (150g) cup sugar
- ½ cup (110g) butter, cold
Instructions
- Preheat the oven in 350ºF (180ºC).
- Butter a 9x9 inch (23x23 cm) glass or ceramic dish or 6 individual ramekins.
For the fruit layer:
- Peel and core the apples. Cut them into medium wedges or dice.
- Mix the apples pieces with the orange juice, zest, sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon and vanilla in a bowl.
- Transfer to the prepared baking dish.
- Alternatively, cook the above mixture on a saucepan over low/medium heat until apples start to soften and release some of their juice, about 5 minutes. Don't let them soften too much.
For the crumble topping:
- In a food processor, with the steel blade, put flour and sugar. Pulse once or twice.
- Add cold butter and pulse until the butter is the size of peas.
- In a bowl: or put the flour and sugar in a large bowl, add the cold butter pieces and with your hands or a pastry blender, mix until the butter is the size of peas.
To assemble:
- Put the apple mixture in the baking dish and top with the blackberries.
- Sprinkle the crumble mixture over the fruit. It will be very irregular and that is fine.
- Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until golden brown and berry juices are bubbling.
- Let cool until warm and serve with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.
- Or eat it plain, at room temperature.
Notes
Crumble: it can be made ahead and frozen for a month. Or refrigerated for several days.
Apples: if you want firmer apples use the first method of adding them directly to the baking dish. If you like softer apples cook them first. It's all explained in the recipe above.
Storing: it keeps at room temperature for 1-2 days, though I prefer to wrap and keep refrigerated. Warm it before eating at a 325°F (165°C) oven. It can be frozen, well wrapped, for a month.
Variations: blueberries work well instead of blackberries and lemon instead of orange.
- Prep Time: 15
- Cook Time: 40
- Category: Desserts
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: International
Nutrition
- Serving Size: ⅙
- Calories: 435
- Sugar: 50.2 g
- Sodium: 5 mg
- Fat: 16 g
- Carbohydrates: 73.9 g
- Protein: 3.2 g
- Cholesterol: 40.7 mg
Keywords: apple blackberry crumble
Lynda says
So glad to have found this recipe! My company loved it, glad I made the extra large one, as the kids were so happy to have second helpings! Making it again to take to a BBQ potluck. I’m confident everyone will love it too! Worth getting blackberry prickles in my fingers!
Paula Montenegro says
Thanks for letting me know Lynda! It makes my day when I read the recipes are making others happy. Have a great week.
Lin says
I can miss the obvious, but I'm not seeing how much cornstarch is called for? Any ideas/
Paula Montenegro says
Hi Lin, it's a tablespoon of cornstarch.
Tonje says
Yum! One of my all time favourite desserts!
★★★★★
Justine says
Loved the addition of blackberries to our normal "regular" apple version. So good
Emily Liao says
This is one of my go to recipes when I want some dessert comfort food! The blackberries really make this delicious 🙂
★★★★★
Dannii says
This is one of my favourite desserts. Perfect with loads of custard.
Pam says
I absolutely love the addition of the blackberries in this apple crisp! Gives it a sweet and tangy boost of flavor!
★★★★★
Carolina says
Thanks for this recipe Paula, we love it! And the video cutting the apples is just what I needed, you’re so detailed always.
★★★★★
Juliana says
Ohhh! Perfect for this cold weather
★★★★★