This time of year is beautiful. Wouldn’t you agree? The leaves are wonderful shades of red, orange and brown. Cosy jumpers and cups of tea are on everyone’s agenda. And most importantly, the Bramley apples are absolutely delish right now!

I got my hands on a bag of apples, freshly picked from the orchard and I was just dying to get into the kitchen.

Having exhausted the Apple Crumble, Apple Tart and Apple Cake, I wanted something different. Something memorable. Something with an odd name. Say hello to the Apple and Blackberry Crumble Tart.

A base of crisp pastry (no soggy bottoms here). A layer of smooth, sweet fruit. A topping of textured crumble with a hint of spice. Serve with ice cream, warm custard or maybe both. Enjoy with a cup of tea. It’s completely up to you. Feel free to play around with the fruits – maybe you’d like to try Apple and Pear or Rhubarb and Strawberry – the latter more suited to the summer months.

The pastry recipe I use here isn’t necessarily traditional as I have used vegetable oil as opposed to butter because I was low on butter and needed it for the crumble topping. If you have a tried and tested pastry recipe, by all means work with it.

Hope you enjoy!

Amy x

Ingredients
For the pastry base
250g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
150g butter
50g caster sugar
1 egg, beaten
30ml cold water, approx.

For the crumble
200g plain flour
100g caster sugar
100g butter, cubed
1 tsp mixed spice
50g oats

For the fruit filling
Stewed fruit of choice, e.g. 2 cooking apples plus a handful of blackberries

Method
Run together the flour and butter until it resembles fine breadcrumbs.

Stir in the sugar.

Make a well in the centre and gradually add the beaten egg and enough water to form a smooth dough.

Rest in the fridge for 10 minutes while preheating the oven to 180C.

Remove the pastry from the fridge, knead gently and roll to the size of your tin – I used a 10″ round, loose-bottom tin with fluted edges. Use the rolling pin to carefully lift the pastry over the tin. Press down into place and let the excess flop over the top.

Bake blind for 20 minutes in the preheated oven.

While the base is baking, make the crumble by rubbing the butter into the flour and mixing in the sugar, oats and mixed spice.

After 20 minutes, remove the base and carefully shave off the excess pastry to achieve a smooth finish. Spread over the stewed fruit (be generous) and sprinkle with the crumble (again, be generous).

Return to the oven and bake for 45-50 minutes. Serve warm, cold or reheated.