Small-Batch Apple Crumble

Ingredients

• 290 g prepared weight (about 2 medium apples) Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and sliced 1 cm thickThe source uses Bramley cooking apples, which are uncommon in Australia. Granny Smith is our readily available substitute; it is tart but may hold its shape and need a different time to go tender.
• 1 tablespoon (15 ml; about 13 g) Caster sugar, for the applesThe source uses golden caster sugar. Tablespoons here are the 15 ml standard spoon, not the 20 ml Australian tablespoon.
• 88 g Plain flourWheat (gluten) allergen.
• 55 g Caster sugar, for the topping
• ⅛ teaspoon (0.6 ml) Fine saltOur measured version of the source's good pinch.
• 55 g Cold butter, cut into small cubesMilk allergen.
• ½ tablespoon (7.5 ml) of each, about 4 g oats and 6 g sugar Rolled oats and raw or demerara sugar, for sprinklingOptional, as in the source. Oats may contain gluten.

Yield: Serves 2 in this adaptation. Source facts: serves 4, easy, prep 15 minutes and cook 40 minutes; 575 g prepared Bramley apple with 2 tablespoons golden caster sugar; topping of 175 g plain flour, 110 g golden caster sugar, a good pinch of salt and 110 g cold butter; optional 1 tablespoon each of oats and demerara sugar; 190°C, 170°C fan or gas 5; a 23 cm round dish at least 5 cm deep or a 20 cm square dish; bake 35 to 40 minutes, then cool 10 minutes. Our arithmetic: every amount halved — 575 ÷ 2 = 287.5, rounded to 290 g apple; 175 ÷ 2 = 87.5, rounded to 88 g flour; 110 ÷ 2 = 55 g sugar and 55 g butter; 2 tablespoons ÷ 2 = 1 tablespoon. Half the area of a 23 cm round dish is about the area of a 16 cm round dish, so a 15 to 16 cm dish keeps the same depth of fruit and topping; that dish size and the earlier first check are editorial, not the source's. Times in this record: active about 20 minutes; preheat about 15 minutes; bake 30 to 40 minutes; rest 10 minutes; total about 1 hour 15 minutes. Storage (editorial, conservative): cool leftovers, cover and refrigerate within 2 hours of baking, and eat within 2 days, reheated until hot right through. The source also says the unbaked crumble can be frozen for up to 3 months once the filling is cool, then defrosted overnight and baked.

Method

1. Tools: an ovenproof dish about 15 to 16 cm across and at least 5 cm deep (about 900 to 1000 ml capacity), a mixing bowl, a vegetable peeler, a knife and board, a fork, a small sharp knife for testing, and a flat baking tray. Heat the oven to 190°C conventional or 170°C fan, as the source states.
2. Toss the apple slices with the tablespoon of sugar and spread them in the dish. Press them flat with your hand so the topping does not fall through gaps.
3. Mix the flour, topping sugar and salt in the bowl. Add the cold butter and rub it in with your fingertips until the mixture looks like damp breadcrumbs. Shake the bowl: any lumps of butter rise to the top, so rub those in too. A food processor pulsed briefly until sandy also works, per the source; do not over-process.
4. Tip the crumb mixture onto the middle of the apples and spread it to the edges with a fork. Press the surface lightly with the back of the fork so it holds together and crisps, then drag the fork lightly over the top. Scatter over the oats and sugar if using.
5. Set the dish on the baking tray to catch drips and bake. The source bakes its full-size dish for 35 to 40 minutes; in the smaller dish start checking at 30 minutes (our editorial suggestion). It is ready when the top is golden and a small sharp knife slides into the apple with almost no resistance. If the top browns before the apple is soft, cover it loosely with foil and keep baking.
6. Let it stand for 10 minutes before serving, as the source advises; the fruit underneath stays very hot.