The aroma and flavor of this apple blackberry crumble recipe will blow you away. The combination of baked apples and blackberries creates an aromatic fragrant dessert that will have you coming back for more. The fruit filling is paired with a brown sugar cinnamon streusel topping for an easy and amazing late summer or early fall dessert.
About This Apple Blackberry Crumble Recipe
Fruit crumbles are great and easy desserts to make when you're craving something sweet. But this combination of blackberries and apple stands above the rest. When I tasted this apple and blackberry crumble for the first time I was amazed at how great it smelled and tasted. It has this incredible perfumy fruity aroma that doesn't seem possible from combining these two fruits. One friend described it as eating blackberry-infused apples.
3 Things to Love About This Apple and Berry Crumble
- Incredible Flavor: As I said earlier, the combination of apple and blackberries produces a unique, sweet-tart aromatic flavor unlike any other dessert.
- Easy to Make: If you're craving something sweet, this dessert is quick and easy to make. If you need a dessert for a special occasion, you'll get plenty of oohs and aahs.
- Seasonal Delight: This dessert showcases the best of late summer produce, using fresh, flavorful apples and blackberries that are at their peak ripeness.
Once you've made this crumble try my Peach Crumble, which can be made with fresh or frozen peaches, or my easy Pear Crisp (which is actually a crumble, because it has no oats.)
Apple Blackberry Crumble Ingredients
- Ginger Gold Apples: I specifically call out this apple variety because it's this apple that produces the amazing flavor when combined with the blackberries. Ginger Gold apples offer a sweet and slightly tart flavor with hints of spice, while blackberries bring a sweet-tart aromatic taste. If you can't find Ginger Gold apples, then try Golden Delicious. You want an apple that is not too tart.
- Fresh Blackberries: I used Chester blackberries in this recipe, but any blackberries that have a nice sweet-tart flavor will work in this crumble recipe. If you can't find good-tasting fresh blackberries, use frozen blackberries.
- Tapioca Flour (Finely Ground): This is a thickener for the filling and my preferred thickener. If you don’t have tapioca flour, you can substitute 3 tablespoons of cornstarch. I prefer using tapioca because it produces a clear filling. I recommend Bob’s Red Mill.
Full ingredients, measurements, and instructions are in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
How to Make Apple Blackberry Crumble
Step 1: Cut your cold butter into 1/2-inch cubes. Place the butter back in the refrigerator while you prepare the other ingredients.
Step 2: Whisk together the flour, spices, (cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg), and salt in a large bowl until well combined.
Step 3: Add the butter. Use your fingers or a pastry blender to work the butter into the dry ingredients.
Step 4: Add the brown sugar and mix it in until the mixture resembles large bread crumbs.
Step 5: Refrigerate the crumble for at least 30 minutes.
Step 5: Please the sliced apples, the blackberries, and the tapioca sugar mixture in a large bowl
Step 6: Gently stir all the ingredients together until there are not white bits of tapioca flour left and all the fruit is coate.
Step 7: Spread the fruit in an even layer in a buttered baking dish.
Step 8: Spread the chilled cinnamon crumble over the fruit.
Step 9: Bake the crumble for 35-45 minutes until the fruit is bubbling all the away around the baking dish.
Step 10: Remove the crumble from the oven and let it sit for about 20 minutes before serving.
What to Serve with Apple Blackberry Crumble
My favorite way to eat this fragrant fruit crumble is plain. There is nothing to compare to those blackberry infused apples. But if you like eating your crumble with ice cream then a big scoop of vanilla ice cream is the way to go. The vanilla flavor pairs so well with this aromatic crumble.
What is the Difference Between a Crisp and Crumble
This is a question I asked when I started making fruit crumbles. Growing up no one in my family used oats in their crumbles, and the first time I had a "fruit crumble" with oats I questioned why there were oats in this dessert. But I learned that adding oats is very common.
So it turns out the primary difference between a crisp and a crumble is the inclusion of oats:
- Crisp: The topping of a crisp typically includes oats, which create a crispy and crunchy texture when baked. You can include nuts or other ingredients that contribute to the crispiness, but but oats are the defining element.
- Crumble: The topping of a crumble is usually a simple mixture of butter, flour, and sugar, resulting in a more crumbly and clumpy texture with less crunch compared to a crisp. It generally does not include oats, but can include nuts.
Tips for Successfully Making This Dessert
- Choose ripe blackberries: Look for blackberries that have a good balance of of sweet and tart.
- Slice the apples evenly: Slice apples about 1/8-inch thick so they cook evenly and thoroughly.
- Adjust the sugar: Don't be afraid to adjust the amount of sugar in the apple and berry filling based on the flavor of the berries and your own preferences.
- Don't overcrowd the dish: Make sure the fruit has enough space to cook evenly. You may be tempted to add more fruit to the dish, but I made this recipe to have the perfect balance of fruit filling to crumble topping.
- Let it cool slightly: Allow the crumble to cool for about 15-20 minutes before serving. This will give the filling time to set and the flavors to meld.
If you make this amazing apple and blackberry crumble please leave a rating and a comment below.
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Sweet & Tart Apple Blackberry Crumble
Equipment
- 2.25-Quart Oval Baking Dish
Ingredients
Crumble Topping
- 1 cup (125 grams) unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1-1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 8 tablespoons (113 grams) unsalted butter, cold plus extra to butter the baking pan
- 1/3 cup (67 grams) packed light brown sugar
Apple Blackberry Filling
- 1/2 cup (100 grams) granulated sugar plus extra if you want a sweeter filling
- 3 tablespoons (27 grams) tapioca flour Bob's Red Mill recommended
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 5 cups (540 grams) Ginger Gold apples sliced about 1/8-inch thick
- 2 cups (250 grams) fresh blackberries
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- Before you start this recipe make note that you will need to refrigerate the crumble for about an hour or freeze it for 30 minutes.
Streusel Topping
- Cut the cold butter into 1/2-inch cubes and place it back in the refrigerator so it stays cold while you prepare the other ingredients.
- Place the flour, cinnamon, ginger and salt in a medium size bowl. Whisk until well combined. Add the butter to the dry ingredients and toss the butter into the flour mixture with your hands until all the butter is well coated.
- Use the pastry blender to cut the butter into the flour mixture, until the butter is the size lima beans. You can also you use your hands if you don’t have a pastry blender. To mix it with your hands take each piece of butter and smash it flat between your index finger and thumb. Continue to do this until the butter is broken up and size of lima beans
- Add the brown sugar and use your hands to rub the sugar into the butter-flour mixture. The mixture should be crumbly and look like large bread crumbs. Refrigerate the crumble for 60 minutes or place it in the freezer for 30 minutes.
- The crumble can be made up to one week in advance and refrigerated until ready to use.
Apple Blackberry Filling
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter the baking dish.
- Whisk together the granulated sugar, tapioca flour, cinnamon, ginger, and salt in a small bowl and set aside.
- Peel the apples. With the apples in the upright position and the stem pointing skyward, cut down and around the cores to remove the flesh in 4 lobes (you’ll be left with a square-shaped core). Set the lobes flat-side down and slice the apple lengthwise into 1/8-inch slices, making them as even as possible.
- Taste the apples and blackberries before adding the additional ingredients. The sugar called for in the recipe should be enough if the blackberries are sweet. If they are a little tart, you may want to add about 2-3 tablespoons of additional sugar.
- Place the apples and blackberries in a large bowl. Add the lemon juice and vanilla extract to the fruit. Sprinkle the tapioca-sugar mixture over the fruit and gently fold the dry ingredients into the apples and blackberries. Taste the mixture. If the fruit mixture isn’t sweet enough add 2 more tablespoons of sugar and taste again.
- Spoon the fruit into the prepared baking dish and use the back of the spoon to make an even layer. Spread the crumble over the apples and blackberries. Leave the edges a little exposed so you can see the fruit juices bubbling up as they crumble bakes.
Bake the Apple Blackberry Crumble
- Bake the crumble for 40-45 minutes or until you see the fruit juices rapidly bubbling up all the way around the baking dish and a little towards the center. The syrup will be thick, dark, shiny, and clear.
- Remove the crumble from the oven, set it on a wire rack to cool at least 20 minutes to allow the juices to set up. It will still be warm.
- Serve it plain, with fresh blackberries, or with a scoop vanilla ice cream.
How to Store the Crumble
- The crumble can be stored at room temperature for 1 day unless it is very warm in your house (over 75 degrees F). In that case I recommend storing it in the refrigerator at the end of day covered with plastic wrap or foil. The crumble is good in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
- To store the crumble in the refrigerator let it cool completely before covering tightly with plastic wrap or foil.
- Reheat the refrigerated apple blackberry crumble in a 350°F (180°C) oven for 15-20 minutes uncovered.
Tracy says
Made this last night for friends- delicious!
Cheryl Norris says
Hi Tracy
I'm so glad you and your friends enjoyed this crumble. Thank you for giving my recipe a try.