Spiced Apple Crumble. Homely.

I admit it, I am rather anti crumble.  It has always seemed an incredibly yawn inspiring pudding.  However, this weekend, and for the first time in years, I pushed my boundaries and made an apple crumble.  It was on demand by the hubbie and irritatingly rather yummy.

I had instructions not to use muesli, nuts, oats or anything in the topping that would make it exciting in my book and sacrilegious in my husband's.  No the hubbie wanted a pure crumble and nothing fancy.  However, I did manage to sneak in some ground almonds in the topping and spices with the filling which went down very well.

Ingredients (serves 4)

Filling
4 apples (a mixture of eating and dessert apples would be best but I only had eating apples)
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp mixed spice
2 dessertspoons muscavado sugar
a handful of raisins
25 g butter cut into slices

Topping
30 g ground almonds
125g plain flour
70 g unsalted butter plus extra for greasing and 'dotting'
60 g muscavado sugar

Method

1. Heat the oven to 180C and butter an ovenproof dish for four.
2. Core and cut the apples into chunks (I don't believe in peeling anything, what's the point?) and place in the serving dish.  Add the remaining filling ingredients and mix together with your hands then pour over 50 ml water if you are using eating apples less if you are using desert apples.

3. Rub the topping butter into the flour until it resembles fine breadcrumbs then stir in the almonds and sugar.  Use to cover the apple mixture, dot the top with more butter...

...and cook for 30 minutes or until the top is golden and the juices are bubbling up the sides.

Serve hot with cream or custard.