First make the filling. Peel, core and dice the apples and transfer them to a 6” baking dish. Top the pieces with the sugar, lemon juice, cinnamon and sage leaves, then mix well. Cover and set aside so that the juice from the apples and the flavour of the sage are released.<br></br>

Preheat the oven to 180 C.<br></br>

Make the topping by combining the flour, cinnamon, salt and sugar in a bowl. Mix well. Add the cold butter cubes and using your fingertips, rub the butter into the flour till the mixture forms a coarse meal with some bigger bits of butter.<br></br>

Spread this crumble topping evenly over the apples, pushing some of it in with a fork so that it mixes with the fruit.<br></br>

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes until the apples have softened and the topping has browned. Turn the oven to the broil setting for an additional 2 minutes for further browning and crisping.<br></br>

Allow the dish to stand for a few minutes, then serve warm with a generous scoop of vanilla ice cream. Enjoy!