An apple crumble is a British dessert featuring baked

apple An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple trees are cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus '' Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, where its wild ancest ...

with a crunchy topping. In the UK, the term 'crumble' refers to both a dessert similar to the American apple crisp, which is topped with rolled oats and brown sugar, or a dessert topped with a finer mixture of butter, flour, and

brown sugar Brown sugar is unrefined or partially refined soft sugar. Brown Sugar may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Brown Sugar'' (1922 film), a 1922 British silent film directed by Fred Paul * ''Brown Sugar'' (1931 film), a 1931 ...

. In the US, the term only refers to the latter.Ezinearticles.com Jason McDonald, December 29 2008; CanadianLiving, July 6, 2015; Puddings and Pies, Barbara J. Grunes, 1991, , pp. 136-137 It is also popular in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

and many other English speaking countries. Apple crumble is a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

pudding that was included in

Mrs Beeton's Book of Household Management ''Mrs. Beeton's Book of Household Management'', also published as ''Mrs. Beeton's Cookery Book'', is an extensive guide to running a household in Victorian Britain, edited by Isabella Beeton and first published as a book in 1861. Previously p ...

published in 1861. It became more popular during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

as a result of food rationing. The crumble topping is made of butter, flour, and

rolled together so that it resembles

breadcrumb Bread crumbs or breadcrumbs (regional variants including breading and crispies) consist of crumbled bread of various dryness, sometimes with seasonings added, used for breading or crumbing foods, topping casseroles, stuffing poultry, thicken ...

s. Care must be taken to balance the correct amount of crumble with the fruit, or else the filling may seep through and spoil this crust. Crumble is traditionally served with

custard Custard is a variety of culinary preparations based on sweetened milk, cheese, or cream cooked with egg or egg yolk to thicken it, and sometimes also flour, corn starch, or gelatin. Depending on the recipe, custard may vary in consistency fr ...

, but today it is sometimes served with cream or ice cream. Crumbles made from apples, and sometimes other fruits, are also common in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island coun ...

and

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...

References

{{Apples Crumble British pies