Recipe: Butterscotch apple crumble
Unlock the next level in the game of crumbles by including butterscotch, which cuts through the tartness

Apple crumble is the staple of British desserts, says Poppy O’Toole. It’s good just as it comes, but I think I’ve unlocked the next level in the game of crumbles by including butterscotch, which cuts through the tartness.
Ingredients: serves 4-6
For the topping
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
- 150g plain flour
- 90g dark brown soft sugar
- a pinch of salt
- 100g butter, cubed and chilled
For the filling
- 50g butter
- 150g dark brown soft sugar
- 100ml double cream
- ¼ tsp vanilla extract
- 2 large cooking apples, peeled, cored and sliced
- a large pinch of flaky salt
To serve
- custard
- ice cream
Method
- Preheat the oven to 190°C.
- Make the topping. Mix the flour, sugar and salt in a large bowl. Then, a few cubes at a time, add the butter, using your thumbs and fingertips to rub it in until it looks like lovely, chunky breadcrumbs (you don’t want it too fine – some lumps are good for extra crunch once it’s cooked). Set aside.
- Make the filling. Place the butter in a medium saucepan over a medium heat. Leave to melt, then add the sugar and stir. Leave to dissolve, stirring every so often, just so that the caramel doesn’t burn. Meanwhile, pour the cream into a jug and stir in the vanilla.
- After about 3-5 minutes, reduce the heat under the pan to low and, using a whisk, carefully pour in the vanilla cream, whisking as you go.
- Add the apples and flaky salt, and gently stir them through so that the apple slices are completely coated in the thick butterscotch. Transfer this mixture into a medium oven dish.
- Scatter the crumble evenly over the top. Bake for 30-40 minutes, or until the crumble is golden and the filling is bubbling.
- While the crumble is in the oven, warm up your custard: place it in a saucepan over a low heat, stirring continuously, for about 5 minutes, until it’s warm and silky. Be patient – don’t rush it, as we don’t want it to split.
- Serve the hot crumble in bowls smothered in lashings of custard – and vanilla ice cream, because I love it with that, too. So, yes, both.
Taken from Poppy Cooks: The Food You Need by Poppy O’Toole, published by Bloomsbury at £16.99. To buy from The Week Bookshop for £13.99, call 020-3176 3835 or visit theweekbookshop.co.uk
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Why are military experts so interested in Ukraine's drone attack?
TODAY'S BIG QUESTION The Zelenskyy government's massive surprise assault on Russian airfields was a decisive tactical victory — could it also be the start of a new era in autonomous warfare?
-
Critics push back as the government goes after Job Corps
The Explainer For at-risk teens, the program has been a lifeline
-
5 horror movies to sweat out this summer
The Week Recommends A sequel, a reboot and a follow up from the director of 'Barbarian' highlight the upcoming scary movie slate
-
Bryan Burrough's 6 favorite books about Old West gunfighters
Feature The Texas-raised author recommends works by T.J. Stiles, John Boessenecker, and more
-
Book reviews: 'Moral Ambition: Stop Wasting Your Talent and Start Making a Difference' and 'Is a River Alive?'
Feature A rallying cry for 'moral ambition' and the interwoven relationship between humans and rivers
-
A city of culture in the high Andes
The Week Recommends Cuenca is a must-visit for those keen to see the 'real Ecuador'
-
Green goddess salad recipe
The Week Recommends Avocado can be the creamy star of the show in this fresh, sharp salad
-
Ancient India: living traditions – 'ethereal and sensual' exhibition
The Week Recommends Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism are explored in show that remains 'remarkably compact'
-
6 well-preserved homes built in the 1930s
Feature Featuring a restored 1934 colonial in Arizona and a cold-storage warehouse turned loft in New York City
-
Things in Nature Merely Grow: memoir of 'harsh beauty' after loss
The Week Recommends Chinese-American novelist Yiyun Li's 'devastating' memoir explores the deaths of her two sons
-
Sirens: entertaining satire on the lives of the ultra-wealthy stars Julianne Moore
The Week Recommends This 'blackly comic affair' unfurls at a 'breakneck speed'