Blackberry and Apple Crumble

An excellent way of using up any berries you didn't turn into jam. This is the ideal time of year to pick your own wild blackberries, so get out there now and grab them, before the council come along and chop them down with a hedge trimmer........







You need:

175g Plain Flour
100g Butter
75g Soft Brown Sugar
75g Ground Almonds
an extra 25g Butter
450g Cooking Apples - peeled cored and sliced
1 Lemon - grated zest of
50g Caster Sugar
450g Blackberries
pinch of Salt

Pre-heat your oven to 200c. Mix the Flour and Salt in a large bowl and then rub 100g of the Butter into the Flour using your fingers. It helps if your hands are cold when you do this. When the Flour has been absorbed, rub in the Sugar and 50g of th Ground Almonds. The mixture should resemble fine breadcumbs. Set aside.

Melt the remaining 25g of Butter in a large saucepan and add the Apples. Cook gently until the Apples just begin to soften. Now stir in the Lemon Zest, Caster Sugar and Blackberries.

Take a baking dish of approx 17cm or 7 inches diameter, and put the last 25g of Ground Almonds in the bottom and spread them around. This will help soak up some of the juice from the fruit. Now pour the fruit on top and spread evenly around the dish. Sprinkle over the topping and bake for approx 30 minutes until golden brown.

Serve with warm custard or vanilla ice cream

Feeds 4-6