Wholemeal Apple-Oat Crumble with Toasted Hazelnuts
A cozy autumn crumble of soft cinnamon apples under a nutty wholemeal oat topping, built on fibre and fruit.
Best for A high-fibre autumn dessert that satisfies a sweet craving on whole fruit and oats
This is the British crumble done the FoodHealthLab way: a deep layer of tart Bramley and sweet Braeburn apples cooked down until jammy, capped with a craggy wholemeal-oat rubble that stays properly crisp. The apples carry most of the sweetness themselves, so the added sugar is honest and small, while oats, wholemeal flour and hazelnuts pile on fibre and a satisfying chew. Serve it warm with a spoon of Greek yogurt and you have real pudding that won't spike you.
Ingredients
- 500 g Bramley apples , peeled, cored, cut into 2 cm chunks
- 300 g Braeburn or Gala apples , peeled, cored, cut into 2 cm chunks
- 1 lemon , juiced (about 30 ml)
- 30 ml maple syrup , for the apples
- 2 g ground cinnamon , about 1 tsp, divided
- 8 g cornstarch , about 1 tbsp
- 100 g rolled oats
- 90 g Wholemeal flour
- 50 g Toasted hazelnuts , roughly chopped
- 70 g Cold unsalted butter , diced
- 40 g Light brown sugar , for the topping
- 1 g fine sea salt , a pinch
- 300 g Plain Greek yogurt , to serve (optional – can be omitted)
Instructions
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1
Heat the oven to 190°C (375°F). Put all the apple chunks in a bowl and toss with the lemon juice, maple syrup, half the cinnamon and the cornstarch until evenly coated. Tip into a roughly 1.5-litre baking dish and spread level.
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2
Make the topping: in a large bowl, combine the oats, wholemeal flour, hazelnuts, brown sugar, remaining cinnamon and the salt. Add the cold diced butter and rub it in with your fingertips until the mixture clumps into a coarse, craggy rubble with pea-sized lumps — don't overwork it, you want texture.
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3
Scatter the topping evenly over the apples, leaving it loose and uneven so it crisps. Bake for 40 minutes, until the topping is deep golden and the apple juices bubble up thickly at the edges. If the top browns too fast, tent loosely with foil for the last 10 minutes.
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4
Let the crumble rest for 10 minutes so the filling sets slightly, then serve warm with a generous spoon of Greek yogurt alongside.