As soon as the children return to school following the summer holidays my thoughts turn towards Autumn. Those crisp mornings and light fading days just shout Autumn. It has to be one of my favourite Seasons, predominantly because of my love of the countryside.
The season’s colours and ever-changing landscapes give so much joy. One of my favourite pastimes during Autumn is foraging for fruits & berries. We are lucky enough to have an Apple Tree in our garden and so apples are plentiful but I do enjoy heading off with the kids to pick berries.
Autumn Foraging
Autumn Foraging also leads to one of my other passions for home baking. The children love it when the days harvest leads to a fruit crumble and custard. It doesn’t matter which fruit you choose as the combinations are endless.
In my home, we love Bramley Apple and strawberry crumble with lashings of custard. Why not try this and see if you agree..
Ingredients
Bramley Apples 450 g
200g Strawberries, not overripe
3 tbsp Sugar
1 tbsp water
Plain flour 100g
Demerara Sugar 100g
Unsalted Butter 100g
Porridge Oats 100g
Method
Heat the oven to 180c /350 f / gas 4 . Mix the flour with the demerara sugar in a mixing bowl. Add the diced butter and toss in the flour. Rub in the butter until the mixture looks like coarse crumbs. Stir in the Porridge Oats. Set aside whilst making the filing.
Peel the Apples and roughly chop into 2cm pieces. Wipe the Strawberries and half any large ones, leaving the smaller ones whole. Gently mix the fruit with the sugar and tip into a baking dish. Sprinkle over the water. Scatter the crumble topping over the fruit but don’t compact it. Bake in the oven for 30 to 35 minutes until golden brown and the juices have started to bubble. Leave to stand for 15 minutes before serving with custard.