Spiced Rhubarb And Apple Crumble Recipe
Home » COOK » Recipes » Baking » Crumbles, Crisps & Cobblers »This spiced Rhubarb and Apple Crumble recipe is perfect for enjoying seasonal fruit.
The crumble topping is made with wholemeal flour, oats, and a touch of cinnamon, while the filling is a mix of fresh rhubarb and apples.
Serve it warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or cream for a delicious dessert. Enjoy!
Affiliate Disclosure
We have included affiliate links to products and services related to the topic of this post.
We may earn a commission if you purchase after clicking on those links.
As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Read Our Full Disclosure Policy and Privacy Policy
Rhubarb And Apple Crumble Recipe
The whole ingredients list and instructions are in the printable recipe card at the end of this post. I highly recommend reading the blog post all the way through so that you don’t miss any tips or substitution suggestions, to ensure that you have all the ingredients and equipment required and understand the steps and timings involved.
Rhubarb and apple crumble is one of my husband’s favourite puddings, and this is a fab seasonal fruit dessert to enjoy on cold autumn/winter nights.
My mother-in-law grows rhubarb in her garden, and often gives us a few stalks enabling us to make this delicious dessert!
Rhubarb is technically a vegetable, but its usual culinary use is as a fruit that is stewed and used in pies, tarts, crumbles, crisps, and cobblers.
It’s even good simply roasted with some sugar (it is very tart) with a drizzle of cream.
Is Rhubarb Poisonous?
Rhubarb stalks come in a variety of colors ranging from light green to ruby red and speckled pink.
The stalks are safe to eat – even the green ones which will be more tart than red stalks. Adjust the sweetener in your recipes to compensate for this.
It should be noted that the leaves of rhubarb are considered poisonous to humans and animals due to high concentrations of oxalic acid, causing kidney damage (and even death if enough is consumed). If you have kidney stones you should avoid eating rhubarb
Unless you grow your own rhubarb, you’re unlikely to even come across the leaves, as grocery stores tend to sell the stalks only – I have only ever bought it this way.
However, if you buy rhubarb with the leaves still attached, just cut them away from the top of the stalk and discard them.
Ingredients & Equipment Used In This Recipe
While most ingredients can be bought in grocery stores, for your convenience, any specialized or notable ingredients and equipment needed for this recipe have been linked to Amazon, Amazon Fresh, or other stores if available online.
Staple ingredients such as oil, salt, sugar, etc., aren’t always included here as you’re likely to have those in your kitchen.
The complete list of ALL ingredients with measurements is found on the recipe card at the end of this post.
Ingredients Needed For Rhubarb And Apple Crumble
- Rhubarb – thicker stalks of rhubarb may have tough, stringy ribs which can be peeled away with a small knife – similar to as you would with celery. If you can’t find fresh rhubarb, you can always use the canned variety instead – although you won’t need to cook this in advance, just check the sweetness before using it in the recipe and adjust accordingly to your tastes.
- Apples – this recipe calls for cooking apples, such as Bramley, however, if you can’t find this type of apple as it is a very British variety, you could also use Granny Smith, Golden Delicious, Braeburn, Jonagold, or Honeycrisp. In crumbles, you want the fruit to stew down, rather than still having a “bite” to it like you would in an apple pie.
- Unsalted Butter – This is used both in the crumble filling and also in the topping where it is rubbed together with other ingredients to form the “crumble”.
- Caster Sugar – this is the most common type of sugar used in baking in the UK. It is just regular granulated white sugar that has been milled into smaller crystals.
This recipe calls for Golden Caster Sugar which is just the unrefined version and has more caramel flavors. You can use white caster sugar if this is what you have in your kitchen.
In the US it is known as superfine sugar which may be found in the grocery store, but can be bought online or at a specialist baking store.
Do not confuse caster sugar with powdered sugar (which in the UK is called icing sugar) as they are NOT the same thing.
You can make caster sugar at home by pulsing granulated sugar in a food processor for a few seconds. Two or three quick pulses should do the trick. You want finely ground sugar, not a powdery consistency.
In most recipes, caster sugar and granulated sugar can be used interchangeably. However, it is best to measure by weight as a cup of caster sugar weighs more than a cup of granulated sugar.
- Light Brown Sugar
- Ground Cinnamon
- Ground Nutmeg
- Wholemeal Flour – known as whole wheat flour in the USA.
- Rolled Porridge Oats
Equipment Needed For This Recipe
- Kitchen Scales – the crumble recipe is in British measurements, and as such, the ingredients are weighed. I have provided both metric and imperial measures on the recipe card.
- Sharp Knife
- Chopping/Cutting Board
- Medium Saucepan
- Rubber/Silicon Spatula – or you could use a…
- Wooden Spoon
- Mixing Bowls
- Ovenproof Dish – there isn’t a strict size of dish for you to use in this recipe – a medium-sized one, around 11″ x 7″, should be okay. If your dish is a bit smaller, bigger, round, or oval in shape, this recipe is forgiving! A smaller dish will yield a deeper crumble, and a larger dish will be thinner.
Recipes on The Purple Pumpkin Blog use both cup measurements and/or weighted measurements. American cups and kitchen food scales are handy pieces of equipment to have in your kitchen as it means you’ll be able to make all of the different recipes on my blog. I try to give American, imperial, and metric measurements in my recipes. Please note, that you can mix cup measurements with weighted measures, but never mix imperial (pounds, ounces, pints, etc.,) with metric (kilograms, grams, liters, etc.,).
What’s the Difference Between a Crisp, Crumble, and Cobbler?
Essentially all these desserts are baked with a fruit base and some sort of pastry topping. To me, crisps and crumbles are interchangeable as they have a topping (usually) made with rolled oats, sugar, butter, and flour. I sometimes throw nuts in there too. For a cobbler, the topping is usually (American) biscuits – which are similar to British scones but without the dried fruit.
More Crumble Recipes
Looking for more crumbles and crisps to make? Check these recipes out next:
- Gluten-Free Black Cherry Crisp Recipe
- Cherry and Nutella Crumble – this is a very old recipe of mine, and the photos are just awful, but this dessert is SO good!
- Rustic Fresh Blueberry Crisp Served with Greek Yogurt (Gluten-Free)
- Baked Cinnamon Apple Crisp
- Strawberry Crumble – from Wendy at Daisies & Pie
- Easy Apple And Blackberry Crumble – from Wendy at Daisies & Pie
Spiced Rhubarb And Apple Crumble
Ingredients
For the Topping
- 150 g 6 ozwholemeal flour (whole wheat flour)
- 150 g 6 oz room temperature butter, chopped into chunks
- 100 g 4 oz light brown sugar
- 50 g 2 oz porridge oats
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
For the Filling
- 25 g 1 oz unsalted butter
- 400 g 14 ozrhubarb, chopped into chunks
- 2 cooking apples peeled and chopped into chunks
- 50 g 2 oz golden caster sugar
- 50 g 1 oz light brown sugar
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp ground nutmeg
SUGGESTED PRODUCTS
Instructions
- Heat oven to 200°C/400°Ff/Gas 6. Have a medium, ovenproof dish to hand.
- Place all of the ingredients for the topping into a large mixing bowl, and rub all the ingredients together with your fingers to create a crumble texture. Shake the bowl to bring larger pieces to the top and rub in further if desired. Place the bowl in the fridge while you make the filling.
- To make the filling, melt the butter in a pan over medium heat, then add the chunks of rhubarb and apple.
- Add both sugars, cinnamon, and nutmeg and stir. Reduce heat to low and cook for 8-10 minutes until softened.
- Pour the filling into the ovenproof dish and set it aside to cool for 5 minutes.
- Sprinkle the topping over the now-cooled fruit filling and bake in the oven for 30 minutes or until golden brown on top.
- Serve with custard, whipped cream, or vanilla ice cream for an extra treat!
Notes
- Can be made in smaller dishes or ramekins for individual servings.
- Store leftovers covered in the fridge for 3-4 days.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is always approximate and will depend on the quality of ingredients used and serving sizes. If you need exact calories and macros, please do your own calculations.
Recipes To Make A Special Dinner
You’ve made the dessert, but what about the rest of the courses?
Here are additional recipes to create a menu for a dinner party or special meal:
- Appetizer: Crispy Zucchini Fries with Marinara Sauce – Gluten-Free Appetizer
- Soup: Oven-Roasted Fall Harvest Soup with Butternut Squash & Apples
- Salad: Roasted Fennel and Grapefruit Salad with Citrus Vinaigrette
- Main Dish: Recipe for Roasted Italian Sausages with Tomatoes and White Beans
- Side Dish: How To Cook Polenta 3 Ways – Creamy, Grilled, and Fried
- Beverage: Disney Epcot-Inspired Mediterranean Journey Cocktail with Cointreau
You can eat spiced rhubarb apple crumble warm from the oven on its own, or add some whipped cream, pouring cream, custard (if you’re in the UK) Crème Anglaise (if you’re not!), or ice cream (try our easy recipe for No-Churn Vanilla Ice Cream!). It also tastes great when cold or at room temperature!
There are 500+ Recipes on The Purple Pumpkin Blog for you to enjoy – please feel free to check them out too.