A recipe for an all-American favourite, from my own grandmother’s collection.

Ingredients

Serves Six

For the filling:

1.5 kg of apples

200g cup of sugar

40g quick-cook tapioca

1/2 tsp grated lemon peel

2 tbsp fresh lemon juice

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/8 tsp nutmeg

For the topping:

100g all-purpose flour

150g packed brown sugar

40g rolled oats

1/8 tsp cinnamon

120g butter

50g raisins

Start by greasing a square baking dish and set it aside. Preheat your oven to 175C.

To prepare the filling, pare and core the apples, then cut them into thin slices. In a large bowl, combine the apple slices, sugar, tapioca, lemon peel, lemon juice, cinnamon and nutmeg. Spoon this mixture evenly over the baking pan and then set aside.

To prepare the topping, combine the flour, brown sugar, oats and cinnamon in a small bowl. Cut the butter into small pieces and rub into this mixture until it resembles coarse crumbs, then stir in the raisins.

Sprinkle the crumble topping evenly over the apples and bake for an hour, or until light brown and the apples are fork-tender.