Recipe: Apple & Blueberry Crumbles

This is a perfect dessert for a cold evening, served piping hot straight from the oven. You can prepare this recipe in advance up to the end of step 7, storing the crumbles in the refrigerator and then baking just before serving time.

Ingredients (serves 4):
2 tablespoons orange juice (preferably freshly squeezed)
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
4 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored & cut into chunks
1 cup blueberries (frozen are fine)
Crumble topping:
75g plain flour
50g butter, cut into small pieces
50g caster sugar
1 tablespoon cold water

To serve: cream or vanilla ice-cream

Equipment:
4 x 1-cup capacity oven-proof ramekins, cups or moulds (or you could use a 1 litre dish)
Baking tray
Food processor

Method: 
1. Preheat oven to 190°C.
2. Place the orange juice, brown sugar and cinnamon in a saucepan over medium-low heat and stir until sugar dissolves.
3. Add the apple chunks and cook for 10 minutes with the lid on, stirring occasionally, until apple starts to soften.
4. Remove saucepan from the heat and stir in the blueberries.
5. Spoon the fruit mixture evenly into the 4 ramekins.
6. Meanwhile, make the crumble topping: place the flour, butter and sugar in a food processor and process until mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Add the water and briefly process until mixture becomes crumbly. Do not over-process or you’ll end up with pastry!
7. Sprinkle the crumble topping evenly over the tops of the 4 ramekins.
8. Place the ramekins on a baking tray and bake the crumbles for 25 minutes or until topping is golden.
9. Serve the crumbles straight from the oven with cream or ice-cream.