Preheat oven to 180 degrees celsius fan-forced. Grease a large oven-proof baking dish (approx 18cm x 28cm) with butter and set aside.
Place the peeled and thinly sliced apples into a medium saucepan with the water, caster sugar, lemon juice, cinnamon and nutmeg. Bring to a low simmer for 5-10 minutes or until just softened. Drain off the excess liquid.
Spread the cooked apples into the baking dish. Sprinkle over the blackberries.
To make the crumble, place the oats, brown sugar, plain flour and butter into a bowl. Use your fingers to squeeze and break up the lumps of butter until rough crumbs have formed and all of the oats and flour are completely combined with the butter.
Sprinkle the crumble over the apple and berries and place into the preheated oven.
Cook for 35 minutes or until the crumble is golden and crunchy.
Thermomix Method
Preheat oven to 180 degrees celsius fan-forced. Grease a large oven-proof baking dish (approx 18cm x 28cm) with butter and set aside.
Place peeled and thinly sliced apples into the TM bowl. Add water, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and lemon juice. Cook for 5 minutes, 90 degrees on Reverse, Speed 1.
Drain the excess liquid from the apples and spread into the prepared baking dish. Sprinkle the blackberries over the top.
Rinse and dry the TM bowl. Place the oats, flour, butter and sugar into the TM bowl. Press Turbo a few times until you have achieved a consistent crumble mixture (and all of the dry ingredients have been completely combined with the butter.
Sprinkle the crumble over the apple and berries and place into the preheated oven.
Cook for 35 minutes or until the crumble is golden and crunchy.
Notes
RECIPE NOTES & TIPSIngredients info:
Apples – large, peeled and thinly sliced. You can use any variety you like. Granny Smith apples will give a tart flavour which contrasts perfectly with the sweet crunchy topping. Pink Lady, Jazz apples or other red apples varieties are sweeter options but just as delicious.
Blackberries – use frozen or fresh, frozen usually work out cheaper. You can also substitute the blackberries with other berries such as raspberries, blueberries or strawberries.
Rolled oats – you can substitute the rolled oats with quick oats if you prefer. You could also use gluten-free oats if they are available where you live, however rolled oats are labelled as 'wheat free' here in Australia. Australian Food Standards do not permit oats to be labelled as gluten-free.
More recipe tips:
Butter notes – take your butter out of the fridge just a few minutes before you start making the crumble (right before you simmer your apples is perfect). You want the butter to still be hard, but not so hard that you can't squish it in your hands. I also recommend cutting the butter into blocks so that it's even easier to work with.
Clumps in the crumble – you can leave some clumps when mixing the crumble ingredients with your hands. This is the secret behind deliciously crunchy, crispy crumble!
Apple Crisp or Apple Crumble? - here in Australia we refer to it as crumble but in the US it is referred to as crisp, yet it’s exactly the same thing.
Serving suggestions - Crumble is delicious on it’s own… but even better when served with ice cream, custard or cream.
Storage - your crumble will keep in the fridge up to 5 days after it’s baked. Wait until the crumble has cooled, then cover it with plastic wrap or lace in an airtight container.
Freezing - you can freeze this recipe for up to 3 months in an airtight container. The crumble can be reheated directly from frozen, or you can defrost it in the fridge overnight and then reheat in the microwave or oven.