Mrs P’s Apple Crumble And Custard

One of the easiest and most wholesome dishes for the approaching winter season is crumble. I have been asked a few times recently how to make the perfect Paleo crumble so from start to finish I thought I would share a very simple apple crumble with a custard.

Crumble for me is so reminiscent of my childhood. In my family we were pretty traditional and each Sunday we would have a roast dinner, where we my dad would prepare the meat and my mother the vegetables and the pudding. Having such a sweet tooth I would gobble up my mains in lightning speed to ensure I had lots of room left for pudding. Back then I wasn’t diabetic so I would smother the molten crumble with sweeter than sweet ice cream, custard or cream…and not think twice.

This crumble recipe, in my humble opinion is divine. It’s packed with the sweet tartness of apple and accompanied by a delicious crumble top which is infused with toasted seeds and nuts. My lovely friend Ami made one for pudding a few weeks ago and made it with figs too which also worked wonderfully. That’s the great thing about crumble, you can literally throw in any fruit, new or old and it will undoubtedly be delicious! The custard works really well too and is thick and creamy.

What you need:

Apple sauce:
*2 cups homemade apple sauce (3 large Bramley apples cut in to 1/4 inch cubes)
*1tsp date paste (OPTIONAL)
*1tsp ground cinnamon
*1/2 tsp ginger
*1/2 cup water (to hand)
*tsp coconut oil or grass-fed butter

Crumble topping:
*1/2 cup almond flour (Also suitable: almond meal/ ground almonds)
*1/3 cup coconut flour
1/2 cup mixed seeds or nuts (Pulsed in a blender: Almonds, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, linseed)
1/4 cup coconut palm sugar
*Handful dried cranberries (OPTIONAL)
*2tbsp grass-fed butter or coconut oil

Custard:
*1 tbsp raw honey
*400 ml almond milk (or any nut milk)
*4 egg yolks
*1 tsp vanilla essence
*2 tbsp tapioca flour (to thicken)

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 180°c
• Apple Sauce: Add chopped apple to a pan over heat with a small knob of coconut oil or butter
• Start to fry off and add the cinnamon, date paste and ginger and fully coat the apple, begin to add a little water at a time bringing to boil
• Turn to simmer and cook until you have used all the water and your fruit is fork soft (add a sweetener – honey, coconut sugar etc if too sharp)
•  Grease an oven proof pie dish with coconut oil or grass-fed butter
• Pour the apple sauce in to the bottom and fully cover (add a handful of cranberries if desired)
• Topping: In to a separate bowl add all the dry ingredients plus the butter or coconut oil and massage into the dry ingredients until they resemble bread crumbs
• Pour over the apple mixture and smooth down, closing off any gaps
• Place in to the oven for around 25 minutes until golden brown and piping hot
• Custard: Into a pan over medium heat place the almond milk and honey and warm up, add the whisked egg yolks, vanilla and keep whisking the mixture over heat until it begins to simmer and thicken. Add the tapioca a little at a time and continue to whisk until desired consistency
• Serve immediately