There are few things easier to make and more comforting to eat than apple crumble. With barely any work, this warm, spiced, fruity, toasty, crunchy dessert is ready and all it needs is a scoop of melty ice cream to go with it. This particular version has the addition of ginger biscuits which add tons of extra texture and flavour. Basically, if you have some of those early winter apples lying around, you know what to do!
While I have a classic apple crumble on this blog, I was hunting around for what to do with an accidental excess of store-bought ginger biscuits while I was at my parents’ place last week. At some point I began to see lots of recipes for crumbles being made with broken up pieces of these biscuits and I thought that was genius. I do add a little ginger powder to my apple crumble anyway, so this just seemed like a natural progression!
The apples themselves have some cinnamon (because apples without cinnamon…not cool) and sugar to release those delicious juices and make them soft but not mushy as they bake. The buttery, brown sugar crumble topping is extra crunchy with walnuts and of course the biscuits. Personally I think crumble is best eaten fresh because the topping will soften once it’s covered, but it still makes a great breakfast the next day. I say this from experience!
I like the crumble topping to be extra brown and toasty and even if the biscuits darken, they don’t harden excessively. The walnuts add extra flavour as they bake, the ginger and cinnamon shine throughout and it’s all basically perfect. It’s also very forgiving if you want to switch up the spices, or add more dried fruits and nuts to the mix. You really can’t go wrong with a crumble so feel free to use a smaller or larger dish, scaling the recipe as needed.
I hope you’ll make this today!
Apple Ginger Biscuit Crumble
Ingredients
For the apples
- 5 red apples, peeled and chopped into bite-sized pieces
- 1/4 tsp cinnamon powder
- 1/8 tsp ginger powder
- 2 to 3 tbsps caster sugar, depending on sweetness of apples
For the crumble topping
- 3/4th cup all-purpose flour
- 1/4 tsp cinnamon powder
- 2 tbsps brown sugar
- Pinch of salt if using unsalted butter
- 60 gms cold butter, cut into cubes
- 75 gms ginger biscuits, broken into small pieces (about 10 biscuits, I used McVities)
- 3 tbsps chopped walnuts
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180 C. In an 8-inch round baking dish (or use a square dish. The size and shape of the dish isn't very crucial as long as it fits the apples with enough room for the crumble), combine the apple chunks, cinnamon, ginger and sugar. Mix well and set aside to help the apples release their juices. You can cut the apples into smaller pieces to help them cook faster and become softer. I like them with a little bite!
- Now make the topping. In a bowl, combine the flour, cinnamon, brown sugar and salt (if using). Mix well, then add the cubed butter.
- Rub the butter into the flour with your fingertips till you have a crumbly mixture, resembling coarse breadcrumbs. Toss in the biscuits and walnuts. Spread this mixture all over the apples evenly, making sure the apple pieces are covered so they don't dry out in the oven. If the butter seems to be softening or the mixture seems sticky, chill it in the fridge for 15 minutes before adding it to the apples because cold butter makes for a better crumble.
- Bake for 20 to 25 minutes until the top has started browning. Cover with foil and continue to bake for another 20 minutes or until the apples feel tender when poked with a fork. If you feel the top isn't browning fast enough, you can increase the temperature to 200 C for a few minutes and bake without the foil.
- Allow the crumble to cool, uncovered, for 10 minutes, then serve with vanilla ice cream! Tastes best eaten fresh as the crumble topping will soften as it sits, especially once covered. However, you can store it in the fridge for 3 to 4 days, warming it up before eating. Happy baking!
Notes
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