For me, a just-out-the-oven crumble evokes warm, fuzzy memories of my family tucking into dad’s Sunday roast beef, debating whether our post-roast dessert should be served with ice-cream, custard or cream.
Bubbling, stewed fruits paired with a gnarly, crispy topping makes for one of the greatest British desserts of all time, especially when you’re dished up the corner slice with those extra-burnt crumble pieces.
And while a crumble, whether it’s apple, rhubarb, blackberry, plum or even peach, is pretty simple to make – there’s one overlooked step that can take your bake to the NEXT LEVEL.
According to recipe developer and restaurateur Matthew Lockwood, one of the biggest mistakes we’re making when it comes to making a crumble is not freezing our topping beforehand.
Yep! He revealed that the way he ensures his crumbles are perfect every single time, is by freezing that topping before sprinkling on stewed fruit and baking.
“I can’t stand crumbles that have a layer of floury sugary dust on top. They’re supposed to be chunky and craggy, with big pieces of crumble on top. By freezing your topping, it makes it harden just slightly and that means the texture will be nice and crispy when it’s cooked.”
To do this properly, you first need to make sure that the topping is still a little lumpy. A crumble topping is made by rubbing butter into dry ingredients (flour, sugar and sometimes ground almonds, too).
Once this is done, wet your hands, and mix the topping even more, allowing it to form into larger clumps. Pop into the freezer for 15 minutes before sprinkling over your stewed fruit of choice and bake in the oven.
Ta-dah, foolproof crumble EVERY DAY OF THE WEEK.
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Vicky is our Food & Drink Director, where she oversees strategy and content across all of Hearst's brands, from recipe development to fun video franchises and everything in between.
With almost a decade's experience, Vicky was previously Editor of Delish UK, and Digital Food Editor of Good Housekeeping and she lives and breathes food content creation.
Outside of work, Vicky loves learning about wine, eating her way around the world, and hanging out with her dog Pickle.
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