Cakes & Bakes: Rhubarb, apple & cardamom crumble

In a recent post, we mentioned that Justin wasn’t a massive fan of fruit crumble – there was utter disbelief amongst some of our readers! We’ve talked through it over recent weeks – it’s good to get things out in the open. To be precise, he doesn’t like a soggy zone between the fruit & browned topping. The merest hint of uncooked, wet flour and there’s real distress.

Now we’ve identified the true cause of his phobia, we’ve been able to work through it together (with the help of a crumble counsellor) and have experimented with different methods. We don’t add any water to the fruit or pre-cook it any more – and top with thinner layers of crumble mix to produce crispy, crunchy perfection. There’s no stopping him now – strawberry, pear, plum – bring it on!

So, for this week’s Cakes & Bakes we’ve got a crumble – rhubarb, apple & cardamom crumble.

The cardamom adds a distinctive and really interesting twist…

…and chopped almonds in the topping also worked well.

So, the only decision left to make – custard, cream or ice cream. It was a custard kind of day for us!!

Second helpings for Justin – we really have moved forward from those dark, crumble-free years!

Pin the recipe for later!

Rhubarb, apple & cardamom crumble

Print recipe Pin recipe

Course Dessert

Cuisine British

Servings 2

Ingredients

2 large stalks of rhubarb
1 Bramley apple
50 g/1¾oz demerara sugar
3 cardamom pods
100 g/3½oz plain flour
25 g/1oz rolled oats
10 g/⅓oz almonds roughly chopped
75 g/½oz cold butter cubed

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 200ºC/400ºF/gas mark 6
Remove the cardamom seeds from their husks and grind finely with a pestle & mortar
Slice the rhubarb into 2½cm/1inch slices
Peel, core & chop the apple into 1cm/⅓ cubes
Put the rhubarb, apple, half the ground cardamom and 2tbs of the sugar into a medium-sized bowl and mix until the sugar coats the fruit evenly
Decant the mixture into a 30cm x 15cm oven-proof dish
In a medium-sized bowl, add the flour, oats, sugar, chopped almonds, butter and remainder of the cardamom. Rub in the ingredients with your fingers until they resemble coarse, lumpy breadcrumbs
Cover the sugared fruit evenly with the crumble mixture
Cook for 20-30 minutes until the top has begun to brown and fruity syrup is bubbling up
Allow to cool slightly and serve with custard or vanilla ice cream

rhubarb, apple & cardamom crumble ingredients

Keyword apple, cardamom, crumble, fruit crumble, rhubarb

Charity Vintage: Apple Mac SE30

(Ends 1 Sept, 2014 11:30:57 BST)

We’re big Apple Mac fans at H is for Home – in fact, we never part with them. We have a vintage Apple Mac SE30, iMac G4 and MacBook stored in the loft; and currently use a MacBook Pro and iPad Mini… and that’s not to mention the iPhone, iPod and iPod Nano!

If you have the space, wouldn’t all the various models look great displayed on a long shelf, charting the history of computer technology? A veritable Mac museum!

Way back in 1989, an Apple Mac SE30 would have set you back a cool $6,500 US. This one, for sale by & on behalf of Emmaus Bristol*, is currently a mere £26.00.

Emmaus Bristol provides “A bed and a reason to get out of it”. They are a community of formerly homeless people who do not claim benefits but work full time in their own recycling workshop repairing and refurbishing donated goods such as furniture, bicycles, electrical goods and bric-a-brac and selling to the public at reasonable cost.

Charlie Brown decal

We were sent this Charlie Brown laptop decal by the folks at Vinyl Revolution.

It was much easier to apply then we thought – there’s a short, helpful video on YouTube that guides you through the process. We’re very happy with the way it looks. We love Charlie Brown – the newspaper cartoons, the TV adaptations – and of course the amazing music – various Jazz scores by Vince Guaraldi. This particular image looks like Justin & Fudge – staring at the view contemplatively – not saying much, just enjoying each other’s company. When the computer is turned on the Apple logo looks like the sun setting.

Vinyl Revolution makes decals for many MacBook models and they also produce wall art, fridgewraps, vehicle decals and are happy to take bespoke orders too.

[disclosure*]

Cakes & Bakes: Apple & blackberry pie

Every year around this time we are given a bucketful of home-grown apples from the neighbour of Justin’s parents. Because they’re generally tiny and malformed I’ve usually turned them into apple cheese (no peeling, no coring).

There were about half a dozen biggish ones this year, so I combined them with some of the remaining bramble offerings that I had stored in the freezer and made an apple & blackberry pie. I may have confessed in some previous post that I’m not the greatest pastry maker – but I was going to give it another go!

Apple & blackberry pie

Print recipe Pin recipe

Cook Time 30

Total Time 30

Ingredients

For the pastry
350 g/12oz plain flour
80 g/3oz butter or margarine cubed
pinch of salt
4-5 tbs cold water
For the filling
450 g/1lb apples about 4 medium-sized apples
225 g/½lb blackberries
100 g/3½oz granulated sugar
For the glaze
3 tbs milk
25 g/1oz caster sugar

Instructions

Start by making the pastry. Sift the flour and salt into a large mixing bowl, holding the sieve up as high as possible to give the flour an airing
Add the cubed butter/margarine to the flour
Using your fingertips, lightly & gently rub the pieces of fat into the flour, lifting your hands up high as you do this (again, to incorporate as much air as you can) and being as quick as possible
When the mixture looks uniformly crumbly, start to sprinkle roughly 4 tablespoons of cold water all over
Use a pastry blender or round-bladed knife to start the mixing
Carefully add more water as needed, a little at a time, then finally bring the mixture together with your hands to form a smooth ball of dough that will leave the bowl clean (if there are any bits won't adhere to it, you need a spot more water)
Divide the ball of dough in half and make 2 smaller balls
Put the balls into a zip-lock bag or wrap in cling film or foil and put them in the fridge for half an hour while you prepare the filling
At this point, preheat the oven to 200ºC/400ºF/Gas mark 6
Wash & drain the blackberries and peel & slice the apples into 1cm chunks. Mix them together and set aside until the pastry is ready to come out of the fridge
Lightly grease a pie/flan dish (I save my butter wrappers for just this job!)
Take one of the balls of pastry from the fridge and roll it out so that it's about 4cm/2 inches wider than the pie dish
Carefully lift the rolled out pastry onto the pie dish using your rolling pin. Press the pastry down gently into the pie and up the sides
Spoon the apples & blackberries onto the pastry and sprinkle the granulated sugar on top
Take out the other ball of pastry from the fridge and roll it out so that it is large enough to form a lid on the pie
Using a pastry brush, dampen the edge of the bottom pastry case with water
Fix the pastry lid into position pressing it very firmly all round
Trim the edges with a knife
You can use these trimmings to make shapes to decorate the top of the pie - just affix them with a little brushing of water
Brush the top of the pie with a little milk then sprinkle on a dusting of caster sugar which will give a crisp surface when the pie is baked
Make a small hole in the centre of the pie for steam to escape
Put the pie on to a baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes
Allow to cool a little on a wire rack, slice and serve
Serve with a little cream, vanilla ice cream or just on its own - although I think it's gorgeous with a dollop of clotted cream!

Tools: 20-22cm pie dish, pastry blender (optional), pastry brush

H is for Home Harbinger

Tag: apple

Cakes & Bakes: Rhubarb, apple & cardamom crumble

Rhubarb, apple & cardamom crumble

Ingredients

Instructions

Charity Vintage: Apple Mac SE30

Charlie Brown decal

Cakes & Bakes: Apple & blackberry pie

Apple & blackberry pie

Ingredients

Instructions