I’ll admit it; I thought Nigella Lawson made the best crumble topping until just about last week.
But I have been wrong before (I turned my back on Paul Hollywood’s focaccia after trying a no-knead overnight recipe, and even learned to take Gordon Ramsay’s carrot cake advice with a grain of salt); and I was wrong again.
Following my most recent Sunday roast, I thought I’d give Mary Berry’s crumble recipe a try.
The dessert didn’t last 15 minutes; friend after family member scraped every last morsel from its inevitably too-small earthenware home.
How does Mary Berry make her apple crumble?
The former Great British Bake-Off judge keeps it reassuringly simple: plain flour, demerara sugar, and cubed butter make up the crumble topping, while the base contains only cooking apples, butter, and sugar.
But the chef added a step I’d never seen, or used, before ― she cools the apple base completely before adding the crumble on top.
That way, the butter in the crumble doesn’t melt, creating that slimy gooey-ness which is fine (and even welcome) in small quantities, but which can ruin a crumble layer of the thickness I prefer.
Previously, I’d used Nigella’s baking powder trick to keep my metres of crumble sog-free.
But Mary’s suggestion worked even better; the topping retained its buttery flavour and thick, satisfying crumb without some of the fall-apart fluff a leavening agent can bring.
That’s not her only hack
The Cordon Bleu-trained chef also adds a sprinkling of demerara sugar to the very top of the crumble.
That cooks into a thin, slightly crisp layer which is delicious against the shortbread-like crumble; I couldn’t get enough. .
The best part? Mary says the highly-rated recipe can be made up to six hours ahead (perfect for dinner parties ― just make double sure you still follow the “cool apple” rule).
The only change I’d make is adding a little cinnamon and ginger to the base of the crumble. Aside from tasting amazing, it makes your kitchen smell divine; in fact, the aroma might linger longer than the dessert.
#Mary #Berrys #Secret #Apple #Crumble
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