Name: Delia Smith Apple Crumble
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 75 min
Ingredients: 700 g Bramley apples (quartered, cored, thickly sliced); 225 g Cox's apples (quartered, cored, thickly sliced); 25 g light brown soft sugar; 1 level tsp ground cinnamon; 1 tsp ground cloves; 75 g chilled salted butter (cut into small dice); 175 g self-raising flour (sifted); 1 level dessertspoon ground cinnamon (about 2 level tsp); 110 g demerara sugar; 110 g whole almonds (skin on); crème fraîche or clotted cream (well chilled); custard (optional)

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Apple crumble is the pudding I make most between September and March, and Delia’s is the one I compare every other version to. It’s the recipe she calls The Best Ever Apple Crumble, from her Complete How to Cook, and it earns the name mostly because of the topping. It’s crisp and chunky, with whole almonds baked right into it.

This is her recipe as she wrote it. I’ve kept her quantities and her method, and when I add a tip of my own, I say so. I’ve also tried to sort out a few things that different pages get different answers on, like the oven temperature, the bake time and the size of the dish.

Jump to the recipe card at the end of this page for exact quantities and a printable version.

What’s in It

The filling is two kinds of apple, a little light brown sugar, cinnamon and a touch of ground cloves. The topping is chilled butter, self-raising flour, cinnamon, demerara sugar and whole almonds with the skins left on. That’s the whole list. Full quantities are in the recipe card at the end of this page.

You’ll also need an ovenproof dish about 24 x 16cm and 6cm deep, or something close to it. The dish matters more than you’d think, and I explain why below.

Is This Really Delia’s Recipe?

Her name gets attached to a lot of apple crumbles online, and some of them aren’t hers. The real one has a few things you can check. The apples go in raw and sliced, with nothing stewed in a pan first. There are ground cloves in the filling, whole almonds in the topping, and the oven is at 200°C. If a page tells you to cook the apples first and bake at 180°C, that’s a different crumble.

The Two-Apple Job Nobody Explains

Delia uses 700g of Bramley apples and 225g of Cox’s, which is roughly three parts to one. Each does a different job. Bramleys break down in the oven into a soft, fluffy, properly tart filling. Cox’s are sweeter and hold more of their shape, so you still get some slices in every spoonful.

All Bramley can turn out a bit like purée. All eating apples tend to taste flat once they’re cooked. The mix gives you both. If you can’t find Bramleys, use another tart cooking apple, or Granny Smith, though it keeps its shape more and the filling will be less fluffy. Any firm, sweet eating apple, like Braeburn or Gala, can stand in for the Cox’s. And Delia says you can leave the peel on if you like.

How I Make It

Heat the oven. Heat the oven to 200°C (180°C fan, gas mark 6) and make sure there’s a shelf in the centre.
Prepare the apples. Cut the apples into quarters, peel them with a potato peeler (or leave the peel on), and cut out the cores. Then cut them into thickish slices.
Season the apples. Toss the slices in a bowl with the light brown sugar, cinnamon and ground cloves, then tip them into the baking dish.
Make the crumble. Put the chilled, diced butter, sifted flour, cinnamon and demerara sugar in a food processor and whiz until it looks like crumbs. Add the almonds and pulse just until they’re roughly chopped and chunky. Don’t overdo it, you want some big pieces. No processor? Rub the butter into the sifted flour by hand, then stir in the cinnamon, sugar and almonds, chopped roughly with a knife.
Cover and press. Spoon the crumble over the apples and spread it right to the edges of the dish. Then press it down firmly all over with the flat of your hands. This is the key step. Delia says the more tightly it’s packed, the crisper it bakes. Finish by running a fork lightly over the surface.
Bake. Bake on the centre shelf for 40 to 45 minutes, until the topping is well browned and crisp.
Rest and serve. Leave it to rest for 10 minutes. Serve with well-chilled crème fraîche or clotted cream. Custard is good too.

A small note on the almonds. Delia describes them as toasted, but there’s no separate toasting step. They toast on top of the crumble as it bakes, so you don’t need to toast them first.

The Dish Detail Nobody Mentions

Delia’s own recipe uses a dish about 24 x 16cm and 6cm deep, and bakes for 40 to 45 minutes. Another widely read write-up of her recipe uses a bigger, shallower dish and gives a shorter time. Same apples, same topping, different times.

Version	Dish Size	Bake Time
Delia Online	24 × 16 cm, 6 cm deep	40–45 min
Yours Magazine (Oval)	19 × 28 cm, 4.5 cm deep	35–40 min
Yours Magazine (Round)	24 cm across, 4.5 cm deep	35–40 min

My reading is that the wider dish spreads the same apples into a thinner layer, so they soften sooner. That’s my own explanation, not something Delia says. In practice it means: in a wide, shallow dish, start checking at 35 minutes. In a smaller, deeper dish, give it the full 45.

Ways to Change It

Delia says you can use any fruit. She likes berries or apricots in summer, rhubarb in spring, and in autumn she uses half blackberries and half apples. The topping stays the same whatever goes underneath.

Common Mistakes and How I Fixed Them

Soggy or soft topping. It usually means the topping wasn’t pressed down, or the butter was warm. Use chilled butter, and press the crumble firmly with your hands.

Topping goes sandy. The almonds or the crumble were processed too long. Pulse the almonds briefly so there are still chunky pieces.

Top is browning faster than the apples are softening. Cover the dish loosely with foil and keep baking.

Filling is runny. Bramleys give off a lot of juice. The 10 minute rest lets it settle, so don’t skip it.

Top stays pale. Check that the dish is on the centre shelf and that you’ve converted the temperature properly if you have a fan oven.

What to Serve With It

Delia suggests well-chilled crème fraîche or clotted cream. Cold cream on a hot crumble is the whole point. Custard is a good second choice if you prefer something warm and pourable.

Make Ahead, Storing and Freezing

I’d assemble this just before baking, because sliced apples start to release juice once they’re mixed with sugar. You can make the topping ahead, though. Keep it in the fridge for a day, or freeze it in a bag and sprinkle it onto the apples straight from the freezer. It may need a few extra minutes in the oven.

Leftovers keep in the fridge, covered, for up to 3 days. Reheat them in the oven until hot all the way through, uncovered, so the topping stays crisp. The microwave works, but it softens the top.

FAQs

What temperature do I bake Delia Smith’s apple crumble at?

200°C (about 180°C fan), gas mark 6, on the centre shelf. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes.

How many people does it serve?

Delia says 6 to 8.

Which apples should I use?

Delia uses 700g of Bramley apples and 225g of Cox’s. If you can’t get them, use a tart cooking apple and a firm, sweet eating apple.

Do I need to peel the apples?

No. Delia says you can peel them or leave the peel on, whichever you prefer.

Can I make it without a food processor?

Yes. Rub the butter into the sifted flour by hand until it looks like crumbs, then stir in the cinnamon, sugar and roughly chopped almonds.

Can I leave out the almonds?

You can, but the topping will be less crunchy and less rich. Some people swap in rolled oats, but I haven’t tested that with Delia’s quantities.

Can I use other fruit?

Yes. Delia suggests berries or apricots in summer, rhubarb in spring, and half blackberries with half apples in autumn.

Is it vegetarian?

Yes, it is. It isn’t vegan because of the butter, it isn’t gluten-free because of the flour, and it contains almonds.

One Last Thing

That’s Delia’s crumble. It isn’t fancy and it doesn’t try to be. The two kinds of apple, the almonds, a firmly pressed topping and a spoonful of cold cream do all the work.

Nancy Wilson