Ingredients

  • 400 g white bread flour (or 350g)
  • 12 teaspoon salt
  • 50 g sugar
  • 3 g fast rise yeast (about 1 teaspoon)
  • 2 eggs
  • 12 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 12 lemon, zest of, grated
  • 14 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 125 ml lukewarm milk
  • 50 g butter, softened
  • 1 egg, beaten with
  • 1 tablespoon cream, and
  • 1 pinch ground cinnamon
  • 1 small firm tart apple (or 1/2 medium, about 175g in weight)
  • 375 g blackberries
  • 12 lemon, zest of
  • 50 g self-rising flour
  • 2 tablespoons ground almonds
  • 14 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 50 g cold unsalted butter, diced
  • 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
  • 2 tablespoons demerara sugar or 2 tablespoons granulated brown sugar
  • 2 tablespoons sliced almonds

Method

  • For the cake: Pour 350g of the flour in a bowl with the salt, sugar and yeast.
  • In another bowl, beat the eggs and add them, with the vanilla extract, lemon zest and cinnamon, to the lukewarm milk.
  • Stir the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients to make a medium-soft dough, being prepared to add more flour as necessary.
  • I generally use about 400g in all, but advise you to start off with the smaller amount: just add more as needed.
  • Work in the soft butter and knead by hand for about 10 minutes or half that time by machine.
  • When the dough is ready it will appear smooth and springy: it suddenly seems to plump up into glossy life.
  • Cover with a kitchen towel and leave until doubled in size (1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes).
  • Or leave to rise slowly in a cold place overnight.
  • Then punch down and press to line a jellyroll pan measuring 25x35 cm.
  • You may think it's never going to stretch to fit, but it will, although you may need to let it rest for 10 minutes or so mid-stretch, especially if the dough has had a cold rise.
  • When it's pressed out on the pan, leave it to rest for 15 to 20 minutes and then brush with the egg, cinnamon and cream mixture.
  • Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius.
  • Peel and chop the apple and toss it in a bowl with the blackberries and the zest from the other half lemon.
  • Set the bowl aside for the few minutes it takes to make the crumble topping.
  • Put the flour, ground almonds and cinnamon in a medium-sized bowl, stir to combine, then add the cold, diced butter.
  • Using the tips of your fingers - index and middle stroking the fleshly pads of your clumpy (this is very buttery mixture) oatmeal.
  • Fork in the sugars and sliced almonds.
  • Tumble the fruit over the egg-washed dough and then sprinkle the crumble on top of that.
  • Put in the oven for 15 minutes, then turn down to 180 degrees C and cook for a further 20 minutes or so, until the dough is swelling and golden at its billowing edges and the crumble is set; don't expect it to be crunchy.
  • Remove from the oven and, if you can, wait 5 minutes or so before cutting it into greed-satisfying slabs.