I look forward to this time of year when the brambles are in full flow in the hedgerows nearby our house. Our local supermarket is a 5 min walk along a path that is lined most of the way with these striking dark purple berries – a ubiquitous presence in most hedgerows around the country – and you can buy brambles (blackberries) by the 150 g punnet for about £2 at the shop. Alternatively, you can have any amount your heart desires for free, if you pick them yourself! To me it's a no-brainer. Foraging for brambles is a very satisfying experience, as long as you can avoid getting scratched by their vicious thorns.

After bramble jam, this crumble is probably the easiest and best thing you can do with your haul from the hedgerow. You can omit the apples if you want and go for pure bramble, or you can mix it up and include a mix of other fruit such as plums, raspberries or pears.

There's a pleasing simplicity to a crumble. Once you've made the crumble mix, which I would recommend to do in a big batch and then freeze what you don't use, it can be as simple as placing the fruit in a dish, with a sprinkle of sugar if extra sweetness is needed, cover in crumble mix and bake. However, I like to intensify the flavour and consistency of the fruit mix by straining some liquid off and reducing it to a syrup before adding it back in, but you can omit this step if you want.

Bramble and Apple Crumble Recipe

Serves 4

Ingredients

  • about a quarter batch of crumble mix
  • 300 g brambles (blackberries)
  • 3 apples (cox are perfect, but any variety will do)
  • granulated sugar, to taste
  • a little unsalted butter, for frying

Method

  1. Firstly, make the crumble mix. Cut the chilled butter into small cubes about 1 cm in size, then add to a large mixing bowl. Add the soft brown sugar, plain flour and porridge oats to the bowl. Using your fingers, gradually rub the butter into the mixture until you have a kind of breadcrumb texture. It doesn't need to be a completely uniform consistency, in fact it's quite nice if you have some rustic chunks of butter in there. Place in the fridge whilst you make the bramble and apple filling.

  2. Heat the oven to 180 C.

  3. Peel the apples and remove their cores, then cut into approximately 1 cm chunks. Place a knob of unsalted butter in a medium saucepan or pot and place it over a medium heat. When the butter is foaming, add the apples and toss to coat in the butter. Stir and fry for 2 minutes, then add the brambles. Add granulated sugar, one tablespoonful at a time, tasting with each addition until it tastes just right. The amount of sugar you'll need will depend on the sweetness of the brambles, which can vary due to their ripeness. 4 - 6 tablespoons is probably about right. Cook until the sugar has dissolved.

  4. Remove from the heat and strain the apples and brambles through a sieve into a bowl to capture the sweet juice. Transfer the juice back to the pan and boil to reduce until it's a syrupy consistency. Return the apples and brambles to the pan with the syrup and remove from the heat.

  5. Transfer the apple and bramble filling to a casserole dish or baking tray, and sprinkle the crumble mix on top. Place in the oven for 30 minutes. The crumble should be golden on top. Allow to cool for 10 - 15 minutes before serving. It's excellent with double cream or custard.