vegan & gluten-free apple crumble

Yay it’s the weekend 🙂 when we have a little more time to cook together and indulge in winter warming puds like this scrummy vegan & gluten-free apple crumble. Apple crumble has always been one of Aars’ favourite puddings. One of the very first recipes I shared on blog was apple crumble as it’s always been a staple in our home. I’m so thankful that even though he can no longer eat raw apples, he can eat cooked apples and still gets to make and eat apple crumble to his hearts content.

This recipe is so easy to follow that my dad (who can just about manage making toast) and Aars made this together when Aars was only 5. I’ve obviously had to adapt the recipe over the years as we have lost more and more foods, but it retains it’s scrummy essentials. Cinnamon spiced huge chunks of tangy bramley apples, and a lovely crumble – Aars likes a good crumble:apple ratio – so there’s no scrimping on the crumble in our recipe, if you like less just reduce the crumble quantities.

If you can eat tree nuts in your house you can add them to the crumble mix. If you want to make it more christmassy with some seasonal spices like cloves, nutmeg and ginger go for it! Have a play, make the recipe work for you and your family. Most importantly enjoy the process of being in the kitchen together and sharing your culinary experiments.

We are very blessed to have a friend with an abundant orchard of apples, so currently have a constant supply of free, delicious, sharp, organic, gorgeous cooking apples. Aars is a very happy chappy as we make at least one crumble a week at the mo. Many thanks to Sarah for her generous donations of apples to our kitchen 🙂

Obviously being dairy-free means we use sunflower spread which is a lot softer than butter. If you are a warm blooded soul (unlike me – I am always freezing) you might find it helpful to pop the spread in the freezer to solidify a little for at least half an hour before making the crumble. It should help you create the breadcrumb texture when you rub the fat and gluten-free flours together for the crumble.

We love ours with a homemade custard made with coconut m!lk, sugar, cornflour and vanilla extract – so warm and comforting.

I hope you have a tasty weekend staying warm and cosy!

Smiles, peace and namaste,
Rai x

vegan & gluten-free apple crumble

• Yield:

  Serves 6

• Prep Time:

  15 mins

• Cook Time:

  30 mins

Allergens:

no allergens

Dietary:

dairy-free, egg-free, gluten-free, nut-free, soy-free, vegan

This a family favourite, really easy and super scrummy. Gorgeous tangy apples with cinnamon spice and a delicious gluten-free vegan crumble to top it off. 

Ingredients:

• 5 massive bramley apples
• ¼ C boiling water
• ½ tsp ground cinnamon
• ¼ C soft brown sugar
• ²⁄3 C gluten-free flour mix (I use a combination of rice & corn flour)
• ¹⁄3 C sunflower spread*
• ²⁄3 C gluten-free flaked grain mix (I use a combination of oats & quinoa flakes)
• ¼ C sugar (demerara)

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C (fan). 

   

2. Peel, core and cut the bramley apples into big chunks. Bung in a big saucepan with a lid. Add the water, cinnamon and soft brown sugar and heat up with the lid on. I generally leave it for 5 minutes to heat up, then give it a stir and leave it for another 5 minutes.

3. Whilst it's on the hob prep the crumble. Into a large cold mixing bowl add your gluten-free flour mix and the sunflower spread*. Using a cold knife cut the fat into the flour, until it's in small pieces, then create a breadcrumb texture by rubbing the mix between the tips of your fingers. 

4. Once you have a good crumble-texture stir in the gluten-free oats and quinoa flakes and the sugar**.

5. Spoon the simmered apple into your crumble dish. Spoon the crumble over the top, ensuring all the apple is covered and pop it into the oven for 20 minutes. 

6. When the crumble is removed from the over, there should be yummy apple juice bubbling away around the edges of the crumble. Serve immediately. 

7. We serve ours with custard made from coconut m!lk, cornflour, sugar and vanilla extract. It's yummy! I will get the recipe online soon 🙂

Notes:

*if you have warm hands,  you may benefit from popping the sunflower spread in the freezer for 30 minutes before using it in the crumble. This will make it more solid like butter and enable you to create breadcrumbs as you rub in the flour and fat through your finger tips.

**before Aaron became allergic to hazelnuts and almonds I used to add chopped hazelnuts or flaked almonds into the crumble too.