Today is Chinese New Year Eve. To all my readers who celebrate the Lunar New Year, have a wonderful reunion meal with your loved ones and here’s wishing all good health and a very Happy & Prosperous Monkey Year. Gong Xi Fa Cai! 🙂
Every time I think of the apple crumble, it would just bring a smile to my face because it reminds me of the day when the husband proposed to me in London. His plan was to pop the question during dinner that he had whipped up and apple crumble was the dessert he made. But I was having jet lag after a long flight from Singapore to London and I fell asleep without having dinner. When I woke up at 2am cos’ I was feeling hungry, he warmed up the apple crumble for me to eat and then presented me with a handmade scrapbook that detailed our relationship from the early days. When I flipped to the last page with the words “Will you marry me?”, he knelt down with a ring. Even though we were both wearing our PJs in the living room of the apartment we were staying in, it was like the most romantic moment ever although it was quite funny too because his original plans went haywire, haha.
So that’s why the apple crumble is a very special dessert to me. 🙂 Hubby gave me the recipe of which I made several changes. Firstly, I used Granny Smith apples because their tartness made a great contrast with the rest of the ingredients that were on the sweeter side. Secondly, I reduced the amount of sugar just so it wouldn’t be too saccharine sweet. Desserts can be made healthier too! And lastly, I made my own custard from scratch as I didn’t like using those custard powder that tasted fake.
Apple Crumble Recipe
Ingredients (serves 8)
For the apple filling:
800g Granny Smith apples with skin on, cored & cubed
3 tbsp light brown sugar
2 tbsp flour
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
For the crumble:
350g flour
140g light brown sugar
175g unsalted butter, cut into cubes
For the custard:
2 cups whole milk
2 tbsp corn flour
2 tbsp sugar
2 eggs, beaten
1 tsp vanilla essence
Instructions
1. To make the custard, combine milk, corn flour and sugar in a saucepan and bring to a gentle boil over low heat.
2. Pour a tablespoonful of the milk mixture into the beaten eggs. Give it a quick whisk and pour it back into the saucepan. Whisk vigorously till the mixture slightly thickens to form a custard-like consistency.
3. Mix in vanilla essence and leave aside to cool.
4. Preheat oven to 170 deg C with fan.
5. For the apple filling, combine apples, sugar, flour and cinnamon in a 12″ x 8″ baking dish. Mix them up and spread out on the bottom of the dish.
6. For the crumble, combine flour and sugar in a large mixing bowl. With your hands, rub the butter with the flour mixture till it resembles crumbs.
7. Layer the crumble on top of the apples in the baking dish.
8. Bake in the centre of the oven for 40-45 mins till the top turns golden brown.
9. Serve warm with custard.