This recipe for apple crumble (A Vegan Visit) only has four ingredients. Everyone loves apple crumble. And once you master this recipe, you’ll never again have to visit the supermarket to buy a ready-made version (packed in plastic and containing animal products, refined sugar and palm oil – and likely not many apples). Learning to make your own recipes is ‘peaceful politics in action’. Supermarkets thrive on people not knowing how to cook.
Keep apples away from young children (choking hazards). And away from pets (all fruit pips & seeds are toxic). As are apple pie ingredients like dried fruits and nutmeg.
Apple crumble is one of England’s favourite desserts, traditionally served with custard, fresh cream or ice-cream (of course these days you can buy plant-based versions of all of them). The classic recipe of old tended to use white sugar and butter, but today we have better alternatives. And even the ‘luxury’ versions sold in stores contain few apples, factory-farmed dairy milk and palm oil.
To make this apple crumble, all you need are four simple ingredients:
- Apples! Look for apples in community orchards or farm shops (70% of our apples are imported). Buy organic (non-organic apples are coated in shellac – dead insects – to make them look shiny). Outside of season, use frozen apples (core and chop, freeze on non-toxic parchment paper, then transfer to a reusable silicone freezer bag, to store up to 6 months.
- Rolled oats are easy to find. High in soluble fibre, these ‘soak up’ bad cholesterol, making this is a great pudding for a healthy heart.
- Brown sugar. Go for an unrefined brand like Billington’s (with molasses, which adds a nice butterscotch flavour). If you use sugar substitute, go for a natural version like stevia (you may have to adjust recipe). Never use xylitol near pets, just licking a few spilled crumbs made with it can be lethal.
- Vegan butter. If you eat real butter, know that vegans don’t eat it due to male calves usually being shot dead at birth (that’s another story). Flora is one good brand of vegan butter (all versions are free from palm oil, to protect orangutans and other endangered creatures – there is no such thing as sustainable palm oil). Use the ‘block butter’ version for results.
Combining oats and vegan butter with brown sugar gives a tasty crisp topping, that you won’t get from expensive ‘healthier ingredients’ like coconut oil and maple syrup.
Plus this recipe is super-affordable, as once you’ve bought all the ingredients, you can make this again and again without having to buy more ingredients (apart from more apples).
simple steps to make an apple crumble
- Apple crumble always begins by cooking your chopped apples with a little brown sugar in a pan, to release unwanted water, to ensure you don’t get a soggy crumble. Takes around 10 minutes. Choose tart cooking apples (like Bramley) for best results (use less sugar if you can only find sweet apples).
- For a real autumny taste, you can add a little ground cinnamon. Once your apples are part-cooked and thickened simply spoon them into a baking dish.
- Next pulse oats in a blender (or just buy oat flour). Use your fingers to make a crumble by adding this to (cold) vegan butter and more brown sugar. Once it looks like breadcrumbs, sprinkle on top of cooked apples and bake for around 25 minutes, until the top is golden brown.
- Serve with vegan custard or ice-cream. Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge, and use up within a day or two.
