When it's looking dire in the fridge and a desperate need for cake is taking over, some people resort to making a simple Victoria Sponge or Vanilla Cupcakes. My 'day-before-a-food-shop' saviour is this amazingly simple Apple Crumble Traybake.
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Inspiration Behind This Apple Cake Traybake
It sounds like a cliché amongst food bloggers, but this is exactly how my Mum used to make it. Joke! My mum rarely bakes (although she does make the best honey cake in the world - I'll ask her to share the recipe soon). But this Apple Crumble Traybake indeed reminds me of the one she used to buy in a local bakery and bring home for an after-dinner treat 🙂 I am very thankful to my parents for inflicting an incredible love for 'baked goods' from an early age. Not necessarily home-baked cakes, but great cakes nonetheless.
In my family, you haven't eaten, unless you had a dessert. Over the years it's become both a blessing and a curse!
But if you want something fancier, why not try our Apple Crisp Cheesecake which combines the creamy cheesecake with a crispy apple crumble topping? Or try our soul-warming Apple and Blueberry Crumble... and Apple Frangipane Tart (French Apple and Almond Tart).
Ingredient Notes
A few simple everyday ingredients and the magic of baking - that's all you need to make these delicious apple crumble squares! Have a look in your fridge, cupboards and fruit bowl - you may not even need to go shopping to enjoy apple crumble traybake!
- plain (all-purpose) flour: you can use self-raising flour in this recipe - just skip the baking powder. Also, try replacing ⅓ of plain flour with spelt or wholemeal flour.
- baking powder: not to be mixed up with baking soda.
- butter: we used unsalted, but salted butter will work too.
- brown sugar: we used light brown sugar.
- cinnamon
- egg: small to medium egg will be just fine to add enough moisture to the crumble mixture.
- jam: we tried it with plum, raspberry, rhubarb and cherry jam and enjoyed it each and every way.
- apples: we prefer tart apples to cut through the sweetness of the jam.
- lemon: or lemon juice from the bottle.
Method
1. Preheat the oven to 180°C Fan. Line your oven dish with baking parchment: both the bottom and the sides. It will be easier to lift the Apple Crumble Traybake out of the dish once it's cooked if your baking paper is left overhanging the sides.
2. In a large mixing bowl, mix flour and baking powder. Cube your room temperature butter. Then rub the butter in the flour with your fingertips until there aren't any large lumps of butter left. Add sugar and cinnamon and mix. Crack an egg in and knead lightly with your hands until some larger clumps of dough form.
3. Divide the mixture into two. Tip one half into a lined baking tray and press hard with the palm of your hand to evenly cover the tray's surface. Spread any jam you have at home on top. I love pairing my apples with our homemade plum jam, but cherry or raspberry jam will work fine.
4. I use whatever apples I have at home. But I find this traybake works best with tart apple varieties, like Granny Smith or Braeburn. However, avoid cooking apples as they go to complete mush. Core your apples. Peel them if their skins are tough, but I rarely do that. Skins soften whilst baking and I hardly notice they are there. Slice your apples very thinly. After that, squeeze some lemon juice over them to prevent them from browning.
4. Layer your apple slices on top of the jam, sprinkling with a tablespoon of sugar in between layers. Keep on layering until you have no apples left. I normally get 3 layers. Then evenly spread the rest of the crumble mixture, and only very lightly press down to stick the crumbs to the apples.
5. This Apple Tray Bake With Crumble Topping will take 40 minutes to cook at 180°C Fan. The top will turn lovely golden brown. Cool it in the baking tray, then lift it out and slice it into squares. Enjoy with a cup of tea or coffee!
Recipe FAQs
Either way, be careful if you're cutting the apple traybake into portions warm, as it will be fragile. Use a large fish slice to lift the squares out of the tray and serve with custard! We personally cool the crumble traybake to room temperature, then slice it and enjoy it with coffee.
Choose firm crispy apples that are as fresh as you can get them. Firm texture means that the apples keep their shape and don't fully disintegrate whilst cooking, adding extra texture to your apple traybake. But truth be told, any old apple will do just fine in this bake. Here are some of our favourite apples to use:
Pink Lady: a slightly sweeter, but extremely crisp and juicy type of apple that adds great texture and effervescent flavour to your caramel apple crumble cheesecake.
Braeburn: slightly more acidic than the Pink lady, Braeburns are a great choice for a more tangy flavour, that pairs extremely well with the cinnamon in the crumble topping.
Granny Smith: the most tart of the three, Granny Smith apples are for those who enjoy slightly less sweetness in exchange for citrusy zing.
Other Recipes Using Apples
We bake often and make a huge variety of lovely sweet treats. Cakes, tarts, cookies and biscuits - you name it! Have a look at our other recipes featuring apples:
- Sourdough Apple Fritter Doughnuts
- Easy Apple and Cherry Crumble Recipe
- Simple & Delicious Apple Crumble Tart
- Apple and Cinnamon Sourdough Buns
- Apple Crumble Cheesecake
Apple Crumble Traybake
Equipment
- 20x20cm (8x8in) baking tin
Ingredients
- 200 g (1.6 cups) plain flour
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 100 g (3.53 oz) butter room temperature, cubed
- 90 g (0.4 cups) brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 small egg
For the Apple Layer:
- 2 tbsp jam plum, raspberry, rhubarb or cherry
- 3-4 apples cored and thinly sliced
- ¼ lemon juice only
- 1-2 tablespoon brown sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180°C Fan. Line a baking tray with baking parchment with sides overhanging slightly so it's easier to lift the traybake out later.
- In a large mixing bowl, mix flour and baking powder. Cube room temperature butter and rub it into the flour with your fingertips.
- Add sugar, cinnamon and a pinch of salt and mix. Then crack an egg in and mix with your hands until large clumps of dough form, squeezing the dough to help the process along.
- Tip half of the mixture into a baking tray and press down to cover the whole surface. Spread the jam of your choice on top in a thin layer
- Core your apples, and peel them if their skins are tough. Slice the apples very thinly and and toss them with lemon juice to prevent browning. Starrt layering them on top of your jam, sprinkling with some brown sugar in between layers. You should get 2-3 layers.
- Sprinkle the rest of the buttery mixture to create a crumble top.
- Bake in the centre of the oven for 40 minutes until the top is golden brown. Cool then lift out and cut into portions to serve with tea or coffee! Or serve warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream!
Nutrition
Claudia Lamascolo says
very delicious we love this recipe and use it often the apple crumb is amazing! will make again
Ieva says
Claudia, thank you for the wonderful feedback! 🙂
Tavo says
Fantastic crumble! I really enjoyed it, thank you!
Ieva says
You are most welcome, Tavo! 🙂 Glad to hear you liked it!
Jess says
I love that I already have everything on hand to make this apple crumble. Yum!
Ieva says
Yes, Jess! It's one of those bakes that we do a day or two before a food shop, as we still have all the staple ingredients! 🙂
Saif Odeh says
I made it today and it turns out really good. It was a perfect dessert for my family.
Ieva says
Thanks, Saif! Great to know the family liked it! 🙂
Kechi says
I want to make this and just seat with a cup of tea and enjoy it! This really looks delicious!! Yummy tray bake.
Ieva says
Absolutely! It's perfect for cold evenings alongside a cup of tea! 🙂
Mo says
Can this be frozen?
Ieva says
Yes, it can! Wrap each piece individually once the traybake is completely cooled down and freeze for up to 3 months. The crumble on top will not be crisp after defrosting, but it will still taste nice 🙂 Hope this helps!
Joanne Wood says
Where do we put the lemon juice? I guessed and added it to the apple as, once sliced, prior to arranging on top of crumble base.
Ieva Greber says
You are absolutely right! Lemon juice is simply used to prevent apple slices from browning. Thanks for spotting the mistake and bringing it to our attention! 🙂
Lesley Taylor says
Great recipe, thank you. I have a lot of apples to use up that are not the storing type. Nice to find something different than apple cake, muffins or crumble which are all great but have been a bit too repetitive lately . I used red currant jam and added a bit of desiccated coconut to the top, yummy hot, yet to try cold .
This was a real hit with hubby .
Ieva Greber says
Oh, you speak my language - I love desiccated coconut, will definitely try it next time I make this traybake. So glad you and your husband liked the recipe 😀
Brenda says
Nothing beats filling a big baking tray with warm apples and a mountain of crispy topping. The kitchen smelled incredible while it baked, and the whole family dug in straight from the pan with huge scoops of ice cream.
Ieva Greber says
Yup! Love it with ice cream!
Elaine says
I make a lot of classic apple crumble but I think this version is just as good. It's really delicious and so easy to take on picnics or to potlucks!
Ieva Greber says
That's high praise from a classic crumble purist! Glad this version measures up, and it really is such an easy one to take along to a picnic or potluck.
Wendy says
We were craving something sweet and made these because I had everything on hand. Turned out great and will be making again!
Ieva Greber says
Thanks, Wendy — always a win when you've already got everything you need in the cupboard. Glad it hit the sweet spot and earned a repeat bake!