Nothing says Sunday lunch in autumn more than wafts of blackberry and apple crumble emanating from the kitchen - and the fun part is picking the blackberries, if you can find them.
Kirstie Allsopp says: "Where I was brought up, in the country, there were endless hedgerows and we always picked blackberries from them. These days however, a family berry-picking expedition with the four boys means we rarely make it home with a single blackberry, so we end up eating apple crumble!"
Whether you're lucky enough to have wild blackberries on your doorstep, or are using shop-bought fruit, try this recipe from Kirstie's new cookbook, Kirstie's Real Kitchen.
Ingredients:
(Serves 6)
700g Cox's apples, cored and cut into wedges
300g blackberries
Juice of 1 orange
1tsp ground mixed spice
3tbsp light soft brown sugar
For the topping:
175g plain flour
100g butter, chopped
50g light soft brown sugar, plus an extra tablespoon for sprinkling
50g regular rolled oats
Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 200°C/Fan 180°C/Gas 6.
2. Put the apples into a bowl with the blackberries, orange juice, mixed spice and two tablespoons of the sugar. Mix well, then spoon into a shallow ovenproof dish.
3. To make the topping, put the flour into a large bowl and rub in the butter. Stir in the sugar and oats, then spoon the mixture over the fruit in a thin layer. Sprinkle the remaining tablespoon sugar over the crumble.
4. Bake for 40 minutes, until the crumble is golden brown and the fruit underneath it has softened. Serve with custard.
Kirstie's Real Kitchen by Kirstie Allsopp, photography by Rita Platts, is published by Hodder & Stoughton, priced £25. Available now.
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