Jazz up your traditional apple crumble by introducing cherries to your delicious apples - they are a match made in heaven! Our easy Apple and Cherry Crumble (also known as Cherry Apple Crisp in the US) is a perfect dessert to enjoy any time of year, even when fresh fruit is not in season, as the recipe uses frozen cherries. What is more, we use a simple method to make a crisp topping by pouring melted butter over dry ingredients instead of rubbing cold butter into the mixture! Easy and delicious!
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Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Cherries add a delicious twist to a classic apple crumble! It's like an apple crumble and cherry cobbler hybrid!
- The recipe uses frozen cherries, making this great dessert possible even when fresh cherries are not in season.
- This fruit dessert is a great recipe to finish your family dinner with - both adults and children will enjoy it!
- The crumble topping is made without having to rub the butter into the flour, making it an extra easy fruit crisp recipe that even the most impatient cooks can make!
Ingredients and Substitutes
Here are the main ingredients that you will need to make this easy Cherry Apple Crumble:
- apples: read all about the type of apple you should choose for the fruit filling.
- frozen cherries: we like tart cherries in this recipe, so we often opt for sour cherries, but you can use dark sweet cherries instead.
- sugar: we tend to use white sugar to ensure the filling colour isn't muddled, but brown sugar will work just as well flavour-wise.
- flour: is used to thicken the apple and cherry juices in the filling, as well as for making the crumble topping. We use plain/all-purpose flour.
- rolled oats: or porridge oats. We do not recommend using steel-cut oats or quick oats for the crumble.
- light brown sugar is our choice for the topping. Dark brown sugar will produce moist and cakey topping and white sugar will make your topping too dry.
- unsalted butter: melted and slightly cooled.
The full ingredients list as well as a detailed method is in the recipe card below.
What Apples Are Best For The Crumble?
For the perfect cherry apple crumble, tart apples like Granny Smith apples or cooking apples work wonders, balancing the cherries' sweetness. Yet, various apples suit this recipe too:
- Gala's sweet, mild taste fits if you crave a sweeter crumble. Adjust sugar for balance.
- Pink Lady brings sweetness and texture that holds up great in baking.
- Golden Delicious and Honeycrisp apples, juicy and sweet-tart, suit a sweeter preference.
- Jazz apples add complexity with their firm, sweet-tart flavour, enhancing the cherry pairing.
In summary, our vote goes to tart apples, especially if your cherries are on the sweeter side. Sweet apples add texture, but lessen sugar or add lemon juice to the mix for balanced sweetness, or use sour cherries.
All of these tips apply to other sweet apple bakes, like Apple Crumble Tart, Apple Frangipane Tart and Apple Tray Bake!
Love Baking With Apples?
Looking for more delicious recipes to cook for your family and friends? Here are our fan-favourite apple desserts for you to try next:
Variations
If you want to experiment with other ingredients besides the type of apples you use in this crumble, here are a few ways to introduce new flavours:
- Add a generous drop of vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste to your apple cherry crisp filling.
- Zesting a lemon into the fruit filling is a great way to add freshness to an otherwise wintery dessert.
- Add a teaspoon of cinnamon to the crumble topping mixture.
See the section below to see how to change things up with various crumble toppings.
Crumble Topping Variations
CRUMBLE TOPPING WITHOUT OATS: Rub 150g of plain flour and 100g of unsalted butter together with your fingertips, until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Mix in 85g of light brown sugar. Then clump a few small handfuls of the mixture in your hands and use it to top the fruit.
ALMOND CRUMBLE TOPPING: The addition of ground almonds to your crumble topping will make it softer, moister and more cake-like. It will also add a lovely nutty flavour. Start by rubbing 100g of butter into 130g of flour until no large lumps of butter remain. Mix in 85g of sugar and 30g of ground almonds and clump a few handfuls of the mixture together to create larger bits of the crumble.
Method
Preheat the oven to 160° C Fan.
Peel, core and cut your apples into 2-3mm thin slices. Place them in a large baking dish (e.g. a casserole or pie dish, that holds approx 1.5l-2l).
Add the cherries, sugar and flour and toss the fruit mixture together.
In a small saucepan or a microwave, melt the butter and leave it to cool down slightly for a couple of minutes.
Mix the flour, oats and light brown sugar in a large bowl. Pour the melted butter into the dry ingredients and mix to form a crumble that dissembles wet sand.
Spoon the crumble mixture on top of the apples and cherries, then place it in the preheated oven for 40-45 minutes. The crumble top should be golden brown the the fruit should be bubbling around the edges.
Tips For Best Results
- When you are peeling and slicing your apples, squeeze a little bit of lemon juice to prevent the apple slices from browning.
- Do not skip the flour in the cherry and apple mixture - without it, your crumble will be too wet.
- Let the melted butter cool down slightly before pouring it into the dry ingredients.
- Let the fruit crumble cool down for 10 minutes before serving. The filling will be incredibly hot!
Video
What To Serve Apple Cherry Crumble With?
As with many other warm fruity desserts, a scoop of vanilla ice cream is an obvious choice. But I have to admit we love nothing more than a generous splash of heavy cream or a dollop of creme fraiche with this Apple and Cherry Crumble. Alternatively, serve it in a traditional British way with some warm custard!
Storage
Any leftover apple cherry crumble can be kept covered in the fridge for up to 3 days. You can reheat the crumble in the microwave or enjoy it at room temperature. The fridge-cold crumble topping is not very pleasant to eat (it's simply too hard).
Easy Apple and Cherry Crumble
Equipment
- Ovenproof dish 1.5-2 L
Ingredients
Apple & Cherry Filling
- 500 g apples cored, peeled and sliced
- 200 g frozen cherries
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- ½ tablespoon plain flour
Crumble Topping
- 100 g plain flour
- 70 g rolled oats
- 110 g light brown sugar
- 90 g unsalted butter melted and slightly cooled
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 160° C Fan.
- Place the apple slices in a large baking dish.
- Add the cherries, sugar and flour and toss the fruit mixture together.
- Mix the flour, oats and light brown sugar in a large mixing bowl. Pour the melted butter into the dry ingredients and mix to form a crumble that resembles wet sand.
- Spoon the crumble mixture on top of the apples and cherries, then place it in the preheated oven for 40-45 minutes. The crumble top should be golden brown the the fruit should be bubbling around the edges.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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