DIY Wild Apple & Pear Crumble

Here’s a wonderfully easy recipe to warm your cockles as the nights draw in and winter whispers and whistles through your letterbox…

Ingredients

Some apples, pears and perhaps a quince or two

Your choice of sweetener – honey, brown sugar or agave

Winter spices such as cinnamon, cloves, ginger, nutmeg

Crumble topping

Handful of oats

Flour of your choice

Butter or margarine

Sprinkle of sugar for top

Work with you’ve got and can find. If you don’t have access to your own fruit, there are masses of wild apple and pear trees in parks and other public spaces. Quinces are bit more difficult to find but a real boon if you manage to discover a local source.

Roughly core and chop the fruit into a large pan. Add a small amount of water and simmer until tender. Spice and sweeten as required by tasting.

Ladle the fruit into an ovenproof dish and judge your topping quantity according to how deep you’d like your crumble to be.

Add the flour, a handful of oats and enough butter to be able to rub the mixture into a loose crumble like topping. You may like to add some sugar to this mix. Layer atop the fruit, add a final sprinkle of sugar and bake in the oven at a medium temperature for about 20 minutes, or until the top is golden.

Serve with your choice of custard, cream, or crème freche.