Monday 2 March 2009

Toffee, Apple and Almond Crumble

If there is one thing I love about weekends, it’s the opportunity to entertain friends or family at our home. This weekend we had my lovely mother in law over on Sunday for the day, she arrived just after 1pm, which gave me plenty of time for preparations. I got up early and prepared a chicken and mushroom bake in the slow cooker and then got started on what I can only describe as the most divine crumble ever! I had come across this recipe ages ago in my copy of Rachel Allen’s Favourite Food at Home but I’d never got round to making it, that is until Beth at Jam and Clotted Cream blogged about it recently and I was sold! The combination of toffee, apples and almond in this crumble transforms this favourite comfort pudding into something really special. This crumble was served with vanilla ice cream and extra toffee sauce and was a big hit all round! I loved this so much I did a Nigella and helped myself to seconds later on in the evening to eat while watching Lost, pure bliss!

Toffee, Apple and Almond Crumble

Ingredients:
Toffee Sauce:
125g Golden Syrup
125g Light Brown Sugar
50g Butter
100ml Single Cream
1 tsp Vanilla Extract

Crumble:
175g Self Raising Flour
Zest 1 Lemon
85g Butter, cubed
85g Light Brown Sugar
50g Ground Almonds

Filling:
6 Eating Apples, cored, peeled, quartered and cut into 2cm/¾in chunks
25g Butter

Method:
Preheat the oven 180oC/350oF/Gas Mark 4. Put all ingredients for the toffee sauce into saucepan over a medium heat and boil for 3 minutes, stirring until smooth. Set aside. Make the crumble topping by placing flour and lemon zest in a bowl and rub in butter, leaving it a little rough and uneven. Stir in the sugar and ground almonds to the crumble and place in the fridge until you are ready to use it. To make the filling, melt the butter in a saucepan or frying pan, add the chopped apples and toss on the heat for a few minutes until the apples start to soften. Add 125ml of the toffee sauce (about half; keep the rest for serving) and continue to simmer for a few minutes longer until the apples are just cooked. Pour the apple mixture in a pie dish and sprinkle over crumble and bake in the preheated oven for 20-40 minutes or until the crumble is light golden and with toffee sauce juices bubbling up the sides. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream and a jug of the remaining warm toffee sauce!

18 comments:

natalia said...

Wow ! What a super nice recipe ! As soon as I can I'll make it !

♥Rosie♥ said...

This looks really scummy Maria and such a lovely dessert to serve for guests /family. I have this one bookmarked to make myself ;0)

Rosie x

Teresa said...

Wow that looks amazing. I will have to give it a try.

Finla said...

I am also sold, i am bookmarking this too, for making them in a rainy day.
Looks so delicious.
Wish i had a plate now.

Anne said...

Am drooling over my screen, looks delicious! Have it snagged but this reminds me I have to make it now!! :)

Sweet Treats by Dani said...

looks like quite the guilty pleasure :)

Nickki said...

Wow Maria! I am definitely going to make this for tomorrow nights pudding. And I already have all the ingredients in the house to make it, what a bonus :)

Maria♥ said...

This is definitely a must bake pudding!! You will love, love, love it.

Thanks for all the lovely comments.

Maria
x

Beth (jamandcream) said...

It is yum isn't it!! I love the dish you used

Shari said...

it looks delicious!!!!!

Maria♥ said...

Beth, my hubby treated me to the full set of Baking Days Serveware Collection from Spode! It's a gorgeous range and comes in various colours.

http://www.spode.co.uk/pattern/?navid=1&level=4&id=193&pgid=46

Maria
x

Reeni said...

I'm a sucker for toffee, you had me at extra toffee sauce! This looks really scrumptious, such a lovely dessert to serve company!

Heather said...

Looks really delicious. Just a note to let you know I have another blog now -
http://heather-sherrytrifleandcats.blogspot.com/

Anonymous said...

I saw Rachel bake this the other day on TV and she sold it to me, this looks stunning.

Deborah said...

YUM! This sounds delicious!

Anne said...

Maria - I made this last night as we had family over and it went down a treat, the bowls were all scraped clean and my ma-in-law took the remaining toffee sauce home! x

Maria♥ said...

Anne, so glad you made it and actually not suprised to hear the bowls were scraped clean!! This crumble is amazing.

Maria
x

plasterer bristol said...

Sounds yummy, i love toffee recipes, so thanks for sharing.

Simon