Nothing beats a yummy crumble, it’s comfort food at its finest, and now is the perfect time of year to make a delicious apple crumble!

The best ever Gluten free & Dairy free Apple Crumble created for the Speciality Fine Food Fair! A delicious partnership of apple with a hint of mixed spice, covered with a shortbread inspired crumble topping! The perfect comfort food, especially when paired with dairy-free custard or cream! www.intolerantgourmand.com

Don’t shoot me for saying it, but there’s a definite change in the air. Mornings are taking on a cool, damp and misty appearance. Evenings are becoming shorter and distinctly cooler. We’ve even succumbed and lit the fire a few times, shhhh!!!

Yep, we might not want to admit it, but summer has reached an end, and autumn is hot on its heels!

Personally, I absolutely love this time of year. Beautiful colours on the trees as the leaves change colour to reds, golds and yellows, and berries become ripe and juicy. Wrapping up in cosy jumpers, scarves and new boots. Comfy nights in with the fire going and your favourite film on.

Sounds amazing doesn’t it!

Now, as a foodie, for me it’s all about the produce that becomes available at this time of year. Seasonal fruit and vegetables come into their own, and my goodness we’re spoilt for choice.

Pumpkins, butternut squash, blackberries, apples, pears….. I could go on for ages.

I had the pleasure of cooking and presenting live at the Speciality & Fine Food Fair at the weekend, and took the opportunity to show that free from food doesn’t need to be boring. In fact it’s far from it. By using the simplest of ingredients, you can create delicious food that people would be hard pushed to realise was free from.

My good friend Steve Walpole was with me, while the talented Will Torrent hosted the talk, and it was such a pleasure and honour to work with these 2 fantastic chefs!

I promised to share the 2 recipes I cooked:

  • Pumpkin Tortellini with a sweet chilli sauce
  • Apple Crumble with custard

I shall be sharing the pumpkin tortellini later on in the week, so be sure to keep a look out!

The best ever Gluten free & Dairy free Apple Crumble created for the Speciality Fine Food Fair! A delicious partnership of apple with a hint of mixed spice, covered with a shortbread inspired crumble topping! The perfect comfort food, especially when paired with dairy-free custard or cream! www.intolerantgourmand.com

So back to the apple crumble. It’s always a crowd pleaser, and also a great way to get fruit into your little ones. Children can help out by making the crumble topping too.

My crumble topping is a little different to the classic version, as it is very like a shortbread, and it went down a storm by all who tasted it!

You will need:

  • 4 large bramley apples – peeled, cored and diced
  • 1 tbsp caster sugar
  • 1 tbsp water
  • 1 tbsp mixed spice
  • 4oz (110g) dairy-free butter
  • 4oz (110g) caster sugar
  • 7oz (200g) gluten-free flour (such as Free From Fairy Flour)
  • Dairy-free custard or cream to serve

To make the fruit filling:

Preheat the oven to 180c/ 350F/ Gas 4 and lightly grease 4 ramekins/1 large pie dish and place on a baking sheet.

Add the apples, tbsp of caster sugar, water and mixed spice to a saucepan, and cook on a gentle heat for around 8-10 minutes until the fruit has softened. Remember to stir occasionally so the fruit doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan.

Remove from the heat once the crumble topping is ready, and pour into the prepared ramekins/ pie dish.

To make the crumble topping:

Add the dairy free butter and caster sugar to a bowl, and gently mix until lightly combined.

Then add the gluten-free flour, and rub the mixture with your fingertips until it becomes the consistency of breadcrumbs (Children will love to help you do this!)

Spoon the crumble topping over the apple filling.

Then place in the oven and bake for around 10-15 minutes, or until the crumble topping has turned a light golden colour.

Remove from the oven, and leave to cool for a bit as the apple filling will be very hot!

Serve with the dairy-free custard or cream.

Enjoy!

The best ever Gluten free & Dairy free Apple Crumble created for the Speciality Fine Food Fair! A delicious partnership of apple with a hint of mixed spice, covered with a shortbread inspired crumble topping! The perfect comfort food, especially when paired with dairy-free custard or cream! www.intolerantgourmand.com

#FreeFromHarvest

We’ve teamed up with some of our favourite bloggers again to bring you another feast! Our previous collaboration for Christmas, Picnics and Pancakes proved really popular, and we’re hoping this collaboration will help you out just as much!

So, be sure to check out:

I’ll also be doing a roundup of all the recipes featured, and some more that I’ve found! If you have a recipe you’d like to have included then let me know!

The best ever Gluten free & Dairy free Apple Crumble created for the Speciality Fine Food Fair! A delicious partnership of apple with a hint of mixed spice, covered with a shortbread inspired crumble topping! The perfect comfort food, especially when paired with dairy-free custard or cream! www.intolerantgourmand.com