You can hear the buzzing before you even get close to the berry bushes. The vines are covered in flowers and the flowers are covered in bees!
I hope this bodes well for our berry harvest this year, and for years to come, as we’ve just spent the last few weeks digging dirt, carting mulch and planting three huge rows of new berry canes. Now we just need to water them through the hot summer and cross out fingers that next year, or the year after, we will have more berries than we know what to do with!
In the mean time we celebrated getting all the plants in with some berries from the freezer and made super easy Apple and Berry Crumble.
- 4 apples (approx) – enough to make 3 cups of peeled chopped apple
- 2 tbsp water
- 2 cubs of berries, fresh or frozen
- 2 tbsp corn flour
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 110 gms butter chilled and chopped
- 3/4 cup rolled oats
- 3/4 cup plain flour
- 3/4 cup brown sugar
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp allspice
- To make the fruit filling:
- Peel and chop enough apples to make 3 cups.
- Combine the apples and water in a medium saucepan or microwave safe bowl and cook until the apples are just beginning to soften.
- Add the berries, corn flour and 1/4 cup of brown sugar and mix well until combined.
- To make the crumble topping:
- In a large bowl combine the oats, flour, 3/4 cup of brown sugar and spices and mix well.
- Make sure your butter is nice and cold and cut into small pieces and add it to the dry ingredients.
- Using your fingers rub in the butter until the mixture forms rough crumbs.
- Preheat your oven to 180 Celsius
- If using ramekins, add enough fruit mixture to half the ramekins, then spoon on a good layer of crumble mixture, enough to cover the fruit well.
- If using a large oven proof dish, add all of the fruit mixture and spread the crumble mixture evenly on top.
- Bake in a moderate oven for 30-40 minutes or until the fruit is bubbling up around the edges of the crumble and the crumbs have just begun to brown.
We made ours in little ramekims, as my kids are mad for having their own little serve of things at the moment (did you see the individual pots of Spinach Pasta Bake we shared last week?), but you can make this in one big oven dish if you prefer.
We used apples and raspberries because that is what we had, but this will work with lots of different fruit combinations, fresh or frozen. We’ll make strawberry and rhubarb crumble when the strawberry harvest peaks.
Crumble is great eaten warm with cream, or icecream, but we’ve been a little obsessed with making our own sweet lemon yoghurt lately. It is super easy to make and totally to die for with this apple and berry crumble
- 1 cup of plain greek yoghurt
- juice from half a lemon (or to taste)
- 2 teaspoons of icing sugar (or to taste)
- Combine the yoghurt, lemon juice and icing sugar in a bowl and mix well.
- Make sure you taste it as you may wish to add more sugar or lemon juice.
- Easily double or triple this recipe when you need more.
If we get a good crop of berries next year I’ll invite you over for a crumble!
What is your favourite type of berry?
And what is your favourite way to eat them?
I love apple crumbles! This sounds amazing, Kate!
I love berries , so ill be looking for that invite..Thanks Kate for this recipe