Blackberry And Apple Crumble
An easy blackberry apple crumble recipe made with fresh blackberries, sweet-tart apples, and a buttery crumble topping. This fruit dessert is gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, and vegan.
This fruit crumble recipe is a quick and easy summer dessert that falls somewhere between a crisp, crumble, and a cobbler with its jammy fruit filling and crunchy oat crumble topping.
There’s nothing quite like in-season, fresh blackberries. This berry has a relatively short shelf life though, so a great way to enjoy it longer is to make a blackberry dessert.
Ingredients
- Blackberries – use fresh berries if they’re in season. Otherwise, frozen berries will also work, just thaw them first.
- Apples – when it comes to desserts, tart granny smith apples work well to balance out the other sweet flavors, but you can use any variety of apples such as gala apples, golden apples, pink lady, etc. Use this apple guide as a reference to help you decide.
- Brown sugar – I used light brown sugar for both the filling and the crumble topping.
- Ground cinnamon – provides a warm, sweet, earthy flavor.
- Lemon juice – for brightness and some acidity to cut through the sweetness.
- Cornstarch – to thicken the fruit mixture.
- Rolled oats – for the best texture, use old-fashioned rolled oats, not instant oats. Use certified gluten-free oats if needed.
- Cold butter – use either vegan butter or regular unsalted butter if not dairy-free. This is what creates that beautiful golden brown crumb.
- Brown rice flour – for the crunchy topping. I love this brand for its super fine texture.
- Kosher salt – just a pinch to balance the flavors.
See the recipe card at the bottom of this post for ingredient quantities.
How to Make Blackberry Apple Crumble
Step 1. Prepare the fruit filling. Peel, core, and cut the apple into thin slices (roughly ÂĽ-inch thick). Add the sliced apples to a large bowl along with the blackberries, 2 tablespoons brown sugar, ground cinnamon, lemon juice, and cornstarch.
Step 2. Transfer the apple mixture to your baking dish or skillet and spread it into a somewhat even layer.
Step 3. In a medium bowl, prepare the dry ingredients. Combine flour, rolled oats, brown sugar, and salt. Add the cold butter, pressing it through the mixture with your hands until you have a crumbly texture.
Step 4. Spoon the oat crumble topping over the filling and bake uncovered for 45 minutes. Allow it to cool down for a few minutes. Serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream if desired.
Make It Your Way: Substitutions & Variations
Please remember that recipes are just a starting point.
How can you make this apple blackberry crumble using what you already have? Here are some ideas…
- No cornstarch? – use tapioca flour/starch instead.
- No butter? – use refined coconut oil for no coconut taste.
- No blackberries? – you can also use other seasonal fruits such as cherries, cranberries, raspberries, or pears.
- No brown sugar – use white sugar, cane sugar, or coconut sugar instead.
- No brown rice flour? – substitute plain flour.
- Add-ins – vanilla extract, ground nutmeg, etc.
- Add chopped nuts – a handful of chopped pistachios, almonds, walnuts, or pecans would add a nice nuttiness.
Equipment
For this recipe, you’ll need a cutting board, vegetable peeler, chef knife, dry measuring cups, measuring spoons, and a 9-inch pie pan or 10-inch oven-safe skillet to hold the crumble.
Frequently Asked Questions
Crumbles are more widely associated with the UK, whereas crisps are a popular dessert in the United States. Both use a combination of flour, sugar, and butter for the crumbly streusel-like topping. Crisps also use oats in the topping, but you’ll find some crumble recipes do too (like this recipe).
Let it cool completely and then cover with plastic wrap or aluminum foil and store it in the fridge for up to 5 days. To prevent the topping from getting soggy in this time frame, I recommend not transferring it to an airtight container and just keeping it in the dish it’s already in.
Yes. For a baked crumble, allow it to cool completely, and then cover it tightly with plastic wrap and foil. Place it inside a freezer-safe bag where it’ll keep for up to 3 months.
For an unbaked crumble, freeze the filling and the crumble in separate airtight containers. When ready to bake, let them thaw for a few minutes, then transfer to a baking dish and add an additional 5-10 minutes of cook time if needed.
More Easy Dessert Recipes
- Easy Apple And Blueberry Crumble
- Peach Galette With Puff Pastry
- Blueberry Peach Cobbler
- Dairy Free Apple Crisp
Blackberry And Apple Crumble
Ingredients
- 5 medium apples of choice about 5.5 – 6 cups
- 1 ½ heaping cups blackberries fresh or frozen
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
Oat Crumble Topping
- â…” cup old fashioned rolled oats
- â…” cup brown rice flour
- â…“ cup packed brown sugar see notes
- 6 tablespoons cold butter vegan or regular
- ÂĽ teaspoon kosher salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Prepare the fruit filling. Peel, core, and cut the apple into thin slices (roughly ÂĽ-inch thick). Add the sliced apples to a large bowl along with the blackberries, 2 tablespoons brown sugar, ground cinnamon, lemon juice, and cornstarch.
- Transfer the apple mixture to your baking dish or skillet and spread it into a somewhat even layer.
- In a medium bowl, prepare the dry ingredients. Combine flour, rolled oats, brown sugar, and salt. Add the cold butter, pressing it through the mixture with your hands until you have a crumbly texture.
- Spoon the oat crumble topping over the filling and bake uncovered for 45 minutes. Allow it to cool down for a few minutes. Serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream if desired.