Apple, Plum and Almond Crumble

This crumble is virtually fat-free but this post most definitely isn't!

Crumble... my ultimate weakness - give me that stodge!

As we fully go into Autumn now, everything has come alive with festive seasonal favorites; conkers are beginning to adorn the horse-chestnut trees, people are starting to wear flannel and Starbucks has brought back their pumpkin spiced latte! All of this improves my life significantly.

However, there is one other element to the Autumn/Winter seasons that always sends my spirit sky high and actually makes me grateful that its getting colder outside and that element is none other than the humble crumble. 

Like a king needs a crown, a crumble needs a topping.

I mentioned this recipe in my 'A week in the life...' post a few weeks back when my brother and I attempted (this being the key word) to cook a three-course meal for the family. Despite being nervous for this pudding in it's attempt to stand up to my Nan's infamously amazing crumble, it actually went down surprisingly well with everybody. Warming, comforting and full of seasonal fruit, this British classic is just sweet enough to satisfy any sweet tooth without causing the sugar slump afterwards. This is the perfect recipe to properly welcome Autumn and everything that comes along with it.

Fact: I actually cooked this crumble whilst wearing an elephant onesie and tiger slippers #Autumnswag.

Ingredients:

Topping - 
1 cup oat flour
1 cup oats
1/3 cup unsweetened apple sauce (I used baby food - apple puree as it contains nothing but apples)
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tbsp sweetener of choice - I used a home made truvia blend
Some flaked almonds

Filling - 
6 apples, chopped into small chunks
10 plums, chopped into quarters
Water
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup truvia or other sweetener of choice (may need more or less depending on taste preference)
1 tsp corn starch

Instructions:

Put the apples into a saucepan along with 2-3 tbsp of water and cook over a stove at a med-low heat for 10-15 minutes or until they have softened slightly.

Add in the plums along with a cup of water and cook for a further ten minutes. 

Remove a small bit of the liquid from the saucepan and mix this with the corn starch to make a 'slurry'. Then add this back into the pan along with the cinnamon and the sweetener and stir to incorporate. After a further 5 minutes of cooking, remove from the heat. 

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius (we used a fan oven which tends to get a bit hotter than a conventional one).

For the topping, place all the dry ingredients into a bowl (apart from the almonds) and stir to combine. 

Add the apple sauce and using your hands, crumble the mixture together. 

Layer the thickened fruit filling into a baking dish and sprinkle the topping over it. 

Add some flaked almonds for a good texture and feel free to sprinkle a little extra sweetener over the top if you so desire. 

Bake in the oven for 30-40 minutes until the top has browned a little and the almonds start to darken.

Best enjoyed with some homemade custard whilst wrapped up in a variety of blankets. 

Chewing the fat (a small disclaimer): reading through this recipe, you may notice that this crumble is pretty much fat free. I just wanted to state off the record that I am in no way opposed to fat as a macronutrient and am not the kind of person who refuses to include any form of fat in their diet. I don't however use excessive amounts of fat unnecessarily (like in deep fat frying) and when I do use it, I try to use more mono-unsaturated and poly-unsaturated fats as opposed to saturated. This does not mean that I never consume saturated fat, I do! Me loves the cheese! I just don't have it all the time. I believe that all things are ok in moderation and unfortunately it's so easy to go overboard when using a fat source such as oil in cooking, but it doesn't mean we should cut it out all together. Below are the types of fats found in foods along with how they can be compared nutritionally: 

• Saturated fat: Found in meats, eggs, dairy, butter and coconut oil - Everybody is aware of the links between these products and increased LDL cholesterol levels, heart disease and cancer risk but current research shows that including some of these in your diet can actually be very beneficial to the heart. Just be mindful of how much you consume in a day, for example a serving of mature cheddar cheese is a (soul-destroying) 30g which is about the size of a battery. This alone contains around 6g of saturated fat - about 30% of an average person's recommended daily intake.
• Mono-unsaturated fat: Found in olive oil, nuts and avocado - Great for increasing your levels of HDL cholesterol (the good stuff) and ensuring that your blood sugar levels are maintained at a reasonable level whilst giving you sustained energy. I try to include some form of these in my diet daily, although, again its still about being mindful - there are 119 calories in a tablespoon of olive oil and most people tend to use at least 3-5 when cooking, meaning that the numbers can rack up fast. 
• Poly-unsaturated fat: Found in flax seed oil, sunflower oil and oily fish like salmon and mackerel - A great source of heart healthy omega-3-acids which are essential fatty acids as we can only obtain them through our diet. These oils also possess brilliant anti-inflammatory properties. I'm lucky in the sense that I love fish and hence try to eat it at least twice a week. 
• Trans-fats: Found in a lot of processed foods - It breaks my heart that my beloved treats such as doughnuts, pies and Chinese food are often full of these because if there is one type of fat that's best avoided its trans-fat. Bad for you in pretty much every possible way, it's probably wise to limit these treats to special occasions. *sobs into pillow*

*Remembers crumble and becomes happy again*

So there's a little bit of info about fat and where I stand with it. Everybody has a different relationship with the roles macronutrients play in their diets, from paleolithic protein preachers to hollering high-carb vegans, the debate is never ending about what is best for us. At the end of the day, all you have to do is find a lifestyle that makes you happy and figure out where you feel most comfortable on the spectrum. For me personally, I like to make the bulk of my diet based around complex carbs with whole-grains, fruit and vegetables whilst also including lean proteins and healthy fats. I also enjoy the delicious 'naughty' foods once in a while as well, which all in all makes me one very happy camper. 

This crumble is a good option for people who may be trying to cut down on their levels of fat intake but as it is an abundant source of carbohydrates it probably wouldn't suit somebody who was on a low-carb diet per say. I am desperate to try this recipe out with some coconut oil mixed into the topping to add in some buttery texture but alas, I am currently not earning a wage at the moment and coconut oil is expensive, even in Asda (they just won't roll it back!). Oh well, I guess that means I'll just have to make more crumbles in the future. Ain't nothing wrong with that. :)