Gluten Free Apple and Blackberry Crumble {Easy Recipe}

Name: Gluten Free Apple and Blackberry Crumble (Easy Recipe}
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 40 min
Total time: 50 min
Ingredients: 500 g eating apples (prepared weight and chopping); 100 g blackberries; 1/2 tbsp ground cinnamon; 1/2 tbsp granulated sugar; 1 tbsp butterscotch syrup (or golden syrup); 110 g unsalted butter (diced); 175 g gluten free plain flour; 60 g caster sugar; 50 g dark brown soft sugar; 1/2 tbsp ground cinnamon

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Here's the best gluten free apple and blackberry crumble recipe I've ever tasted. With a sweet golden cinnamon crumble topping, it's a favourite dessert with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or custard.

blackberry and apple crumble served from a Denby halo bowl with vegan plant based double cream

This year, I decided to pull every apple off the tree instead of letting them fall and rot on the ground. I just hate waste and it took me all day to core and chop probably about 15kg worth of apples.

Note you can see my FAQs for tips on prepping and storing a glut of apples in the freezer. And I know they'll last me throughout the year for some delicious fruit crumbles - a popular dessert in our house!

And this time, we made a classic apple crumble with fresh blackberries with gluten free ingredients. It's easy and juicy with a spiced buttery crumble topping.

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✔️ Why You'll Love This Recipe
🛒 Ingredient Notes
📋 Instructions
👩‍🍳 Substitutions
⚖️ Variations
🔪 Equipment
❄️ Storage
💡Pro Tips
🍽️ Serving Suggestions
❓ FAQ
➕ More Fruit Crumble Recipes
📖 Recipe
💬 Comments

✔️ Why You'll Love This Recipe

Here are a handful of reasons why we think you'll love this easy blackberry and apple crumble recipe:

It's a crowd favorite
Made with simple ingredients
The perfect pudding on a budget
The perfect way to use up an abundance of fruit
It's an easy dessert recipe - easier than blackberry and apple pie!
A great way to use up prepped and frozen apples any time of year

🛒 Ingredient Notes

Please see the printable recipe card with exact ingredient quantities and preparation instructions at the bottom of this post.

labelled ingredients needed for easy blackberry apple crumble recipe

Granny Smith Apples - peeled, cored, and sliced apples or chopped. Or use other low cost eating apples. You can also use bramley apples (cooking apples), or for a sweeter taste, use Pink Lady. Note - sometimes I peel apples, but not when I want more nutrients from the skin such as fibre, flavonoids, and antioxidants

Blackberries - this can be fresh or frozen. To save money, I recommend foraging bramble bushes in late August when possible or use any other fresh fruit

Granulated sugar - or demerara sugar to add sweetness to the tart blackberries. Also, if using Bramley Apples (cooking apples), I recommend adding m

Golden syrup - or butterscotch syrup, honey, fruit syrup, etc to make a super delicious sweet crumble

Unsalted butter - diced to rub into the flour for a fruit crisp topping. Or you can use coconut oil, or plant based baking block (stork) for a vegan apple and blackberry dessert

Gluten free plain flour (All Purpose) - this has no rising agents in it. Note, I've also made it solely with homemade oat flour made from instant oats blended in a food processor, which has a delicious mealy taste

Sugars - having a mix of white caster sugar (baking sugar) and dark brown soft sugar is optional, but gives it a more luxurious, golden toffee taste. Alternatively, you can use soft light brown sugar or golden caster

Ground cinnamon - this is mixed into the juicy fruit and the crumble mixture. We love the warming taste and add it to all of our crumble recipes. You might like to add ¼ teaspoon of ground nutmeg too

📋 Instructions

First, preheat your oven to 190 degrees Celsius fan / 210 conventional / gas mark 5 / 375 F.

person squeezing lemon juice over chopped apples in a medium bowl

1. Peel, core and chop the apples into chunks.

Then place in a large bowl and drizzle with lemon juice.

person mixing apples, blackberries, cinnamon and sugars while in a baking dish

2. Then transfer the chopped apples into a round pie dish or square baking dish.

Add the cinnamon, granulated sugar, golden syrup, and juicy blackberries, then the apple mixture well.

Smooth over into an even layer.

diced butter and gluten free flour in a large mixing bowl

3. Now in a large mixing bowl, add the flour, cinnamon, and cold diced butter.

Melted butter version: you can melt the butter in a medium saucepan and pour it into the flour while stirring with a knife for larger crumbs.

person rubbing butter and flour together with fingertips to get crumble breadcrumbs

4. Then using your fingertips, rub the crumble topping mixture together until you have coarse crumbs.

Or you can use a food mixer or food processor on low, or pastry blender.

person stirring in sugars into fruit crumble topping

5. Now stir in the sugar until well combined.

For an extra crumbly oat crumble: you can now stir in ⅓ cup of rolled oats, pecans, walnut pieces, etc

person spreading blackberry crumble with apple cookie crumb topping on top of fruit filling in baking dish with spatula

6. Transfer and spread the dry mixture on top of the filling ingredients.

Then bake in the preheated oven for 40-50 minutes or until golden brown.

Tip: drizzle the lemon on the chopped apples to prevent them from turning brown

close up of fruity apple and berry crumble in a white bowl

👩‍🍳 Substitutions

Depending on your dietary needs, here are a few simple swaps you can make:

Apples - swap for pears, rhubarb, peaches, plums, apricots, etc
Blackberries - instead of an apple blackberry crisp, you can make up your fruit mixture with other fresh berries such as blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, blackcurrants, etc
GF plain flour - for a low carb gluten free crumble, you can swap for almond meal (almond flour) for high protein or oat flour for more fibre. If not GF, any plain flour or all purpose flour will work
Butter - use plant based butter for vegan, coconut oil, or vegan stork
Lemon - if you don't have fresh lemon, prep the apples last to avoid them from oxidizing and browning
Cinnamon - swap for mixed spice, or allspice if preferred

apple and bramble crumble, freshly baked in a large baking dish

⚖️ Variations

Here are some different variations of apple blackberry crumble you might like to try:

Gingerbread crumble - stir in some finely chopped or grated ginger stem to the fruit filling, and a pinch of ground ginger to the crumbly texture for a gingerbread taste

Extra crunchy topping - once you've rubbed butter into the dry ingredients for the topping, you can make a crunchy oat topping by stirring ⅓ cup of rolled oats along with the sugars.

Nutty crumble - for extra healthy fats and fibre, sprinkle a handful of chopped nuts like almonds, pecans, and walnuts so that they toast during the cooking time and result in more delicious, crunchy bites

Deluxe - add a teaspoon of vanilla extract to the fruits for extra flavour, lightly crushed cardamom seeds, the zest from a lemon and orange, maple syrup, honey, etc

Festive crumble - stir in some slow cooker mincemeat for the perfect dessert at Christmas

Apple and blackberry crumble pie - you could add a shortcrust pastry base to the pie dish and add oats for an oaty apple crumble with blackberries topping.

Blackberry and apple dump cake - instead of making a crumble crumb top, an even easier way is to make an apple dump cake.

pouring vegan plant based double cream on apple and blackberry crumble

🔪 Equipment

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Chopping knife
Chopping board
apple corer
Weighing scales
Measuring spoons
kitchen aid or large mixing bowl
Baking dish or round pie plate

gluten free apple berry crumble with vegan double cream

❄️ Storage

Storing - we prefer eating blackberry apple crumble freshly baked, but it can be stored in an airtight container and refrigerated for up to 3 days. Or you can cover with plastic wrap or tin foil.

Freezing - cool to room temperature and again, store in a freezer-safe container for up to 3 months.

Reheating - If you want to eat the next day, defrost in the fridge if required and microwave your leftover crumble until piping hot, or back in the oven.

💡Pro Tips

Drizzle the apples with lemon juice to prevent them from turning brown
For a more coarse crunchy oat crumble, melt the butter before stirring it into the flour and mixing with a knife or fork. Then stir in some oats if desired
Make sure to chop the apples into similar-sized pieces for even cooking
You can cover the crumble with foil halfway through baking if it is browning too quickly

🍽️ Serving Suggestions

Here are some luxurious serving suggestions for this apple blackberry dessert:

Ice cream - enjoy warm along with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and a drizzle of hot caramel sauce.

Cream - make some whipped cream, clotted cream or use canned for a creamy taste. Or simply pour some double or single cream on top, or a dollop of Greek yogurt

Custard - for the Winter months, hot custard poured on top makes this apple banana dessert pure comfort food

Cup of tea - sometimes we prefer a freshly brewed pot of tea to wash the sugar down

❓ FAQ

How do you freeze apples?

To prep, I chopped any bad bits off, cored without peeling and chucked diced apples in a pan of cold water with lemon juice. This prevents the apples turning brown. And once done, I drained and filled food bags with 500g of diced apples.

Can apple and blackberry crumble be frozen?

Yes, this apple and bramble crumble freezes well. In fact, when we first made it, we portioned it off in foil containers and baked them before freezing.
You could, of course, freeze it before baking. Instead of leaving it to full defrost, I placed it in the oven at 180 degrees for about 25 minutes until piping hot.

Can I use frozen or canned fruit instead of fresh?

Yes, you can use frozen or canned fruit instead of fresh. Frozen fruit will work well as it will release its juices as it bakes. Canned fruit will also work, but you may want to drain some of the liquid and reduce the amount of sugar in the filling. You can also use other fruits such as pears, plums, or raspberries, etc.

➕ More Fruit Crumble Recipes

Looking for more crispy crumble recipes like this? Try these:

Note, if you're looking for more dedicated gluten free recipes, I recommend checking out Becky Excell at Gluten Free Cuppa Tea. This recipe was originally developed when there was a UK shortage of flour due to high demand during lockdown, but GF flour was available.

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