The Ultimate Gluten Free Apple Crumble!! (with optional pools of fudge)
My Gluten Free Apple Crumble recipe is finally here!!! This 4-ingredient recipe shows you how to make a really easy, classic apple crumble but totally gluten free.
Its naturally dairy free too.
There’s not a lot involved in a crumble – you just slice apples, coat them in sugar and then cover in a shortbread type mix of butter, sugar and flour. That said, you want the base to be just sweet enough and you want a deliciously crumbly crunch ontop. This is my favourite pud so I had to get it right!!
After a little bit of experimenting, I’ve worked out the perfect ratio to give you exactly that. If you opt for the fudge extra, you’ll have pools of caramel running through it too. Heaven!
Its a crime that I’ve only just learnt to make it but hey, at least its here now!! Enjoy 🙂
Ingredients
(1) Gluten Free Flour
- Plain is my preference but if you’ve only got self-raising flour in the cupboard, it’ll still work.
- Brand: I like Doves Farm FREEE
(2) Stork Block
- The block of Stork in the picture below is the best if you can get it (you want the one that comes in 250g foil block, NOT a tub, and it says “biscuits and pastry” on the front)
- Stork is **naturally dairy free*** too!!
- If you can’t get Stork:
- You can buy alternative brands but it has to be a vegetable oil based block. Make sure the ingredients states “vegetable oil” (usually 75%). The packet will likely say something like “baking block for biscuits”.
- Don’t substitute with a block of real butter e.g. Lurpak (which is made of milk, not oil) because the results will be very different!!
(3) Golden Caster Sugar
- My favourite option is golden caster sugar but you could use regular caster sugar. The end result will be lighter in colour and not as caramelly tasting.
(4) Apples
- Lots of recipes recommend all different types of apples and any of them will work, its just down to personal taste!
- I personally like using bramley or granny smith apples so the apple base is soft, slightly mushy and not tooo sweet so it suits everyones taste.
Optional Extras
(5) Oats – admittedly, I leave this out but some people love!
- You can use rolled/ground oats. Just check they are gluten free.
- Don’t worry if you haven’t got any, just leave them off
(6) Fudge – another very optional extra
- You could use any flavour/brand you like – most fudge brands in the supermarket are gluten free
The Ultimate Gluten Free Apple Crumble!! with optional Fudge
Servings: 4 to 6 people
Ingredients
Crumble
- 200 grams gluten free plain flour
- 100 grams golden caster sugar
- 100 grams Stork block *keep it in the fridge until you need it* - see "Ingredients" in the blog post above for more info
Apple Base
- 4 bramley apples
- 2 tbsp golden caster sugar
Topping (optional)
- 2 tbsp oats - see "Ingredients" in the blog post above for more info
- 1 tbsp golden caster sugar
Fudge (optional but reaaally good!!!!!)
- Approx 8 pieces of fudge - see "Ingredients" in the blog post above for more info
Instructions
- Pre-heat your oven to 180oC (fan)
Prep the Apple Base
- Peel and slice your apples into thin pieces >About the thickness of a 2p coin (very roughly)>Usually, I peel the skins off first but you can leave them on if you prefer. You'll just have a slightly different texture to the base.
- Add 2 tbsp of golden caster sugar to the apples and mix together so they are all coated.
- Tip the apples into your baking dish, spread out and flatten down so they're roughly level ontop.
Prep the Crumble
- Add the flour and sugar from the "Crumble" ingredients into a bowl. Mix together.
- Cut your butter into approx. 1cm cubes and add to the flour/sugar mix.
- Wash your hands with reaaally cold water to make them as cold as posible!
- Rub together the butter, sugar and flour with your fingertips until it forms small breadcrumbs.>Tip: when you think you're done, shake the bowl and if there are an big bits, they will come to the top – rub those in. Shake and repeat until all the big bits have gone.>If you've never got cold hands like me, you might find it easier to use an electric whisk. As soon as you start seeing the butter and flour joining into crumbs (like the pic), STOP! If you whisk beyond this point, it will start to form more of a dough.
- Tip the crumble mix over the top of the apples.
- Gently push the mix down to form a more solid top. This will give you biscuit-y clumps of crumble.
- If you're using oats, mix together the "Topping" ingredients and sprinkle over the crumble.
Bake
- Place the apple crumble into the centre of the oven for 40 mins.
- If you're using fudge, 10 mins before the end (ie. 30 mins into the cooking time): a) cut your fudge pieces into half.b) Remove the crumble from the oven and push the fudge pieces into it, right down to the base. c) Ideally, push the crumble top back of the fudge to hide it (this makes the fudge form runny little pockets of caramel), but don't worry if you have some poking out (they may just be slightly more solid).
- Remove and leave to cool for at least 5 mins so the crumble top hardens a little >Its like shortbread – it will be very soft and fragile to start with, but as it cools it will harden a bit and form little crunchy bits so its worth leaving!
