Recipe for Toffee, Apple and Almond Crumble

From Rachel’s Favourite Food At Home by Rachel Allen:

Serves 12

This has to be one of my favourite desserts. The toffee sauce keeps for months in the fridge — so handy for a quick sweet treat. It’s great with ice cream and baked bananas, too. I usually make double the amount, so I have some left over to store in the fridge.

For the toffee sauce:

250g (9oz) golden syrup

250g (9oz) light brown sugar

100g (4oz) butter

200ml (7floz) single cream

2 tsp vanilla extract

For the crumble:

350g (12oz) self-raising flour

Finely grated zest of 2 lemons

175g (6oz) butter, chopped or cubed

175g (6oz) light brown sugar

100g (4oz) ground almonds

For the filling:

12 eating apples, peeled, quartered, cored and cut into 2cm (¾ in) chunks

50g (2oz) butter

To serve: Softly whipped cream, vanilla ice cream or crème anglaise

Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/gas mark 4. Put all the ingredients for the toffee sauce into a saucepan over a medium heat and boil for 2-3 minutes, stirring regularly until smooth. Set aside.

Next, make the crumble topping. Place the flour and lemon zest in a bowl, rub in 75g (3oz) of the butter, leaving it a little rough and uneven. Stir in the sugar and ground almonds. Place the crumble in the fridge until you are ready to use it.

Melt the remaining butter in a wide saucepan or frying pan, add the chopped apples and toss on the heat for a few minutes until the apples start to soften. Add 125ml (4floz) of the toffee sauce (about half; keep the rest for serving) and continue to simmer for a few minutes longer until the apples are just cooked.

Pour into two 1.25 litre (2¼ pint) pie dishes. Sprinkle the crumble over the top and place in the preheated oven for 20-30 minutes, or until the crumble is light golden and with toffee sauce juices bubbling up the sides. Serve warm with softly whipped cream and a jug of the remaining warm toffee sauce.