Hotel apples
When I stay in hotels, I’m in the habit of picking up an apple from the bowls that are often found in the lobby, and taking it back to my room. Any uneaten by the time I leave are brought back with me to be used at home. I very often make them into apple crumbles, with the added interest of knowing that the apples came from Moscow, the South of France or wherever.
In this case I had two left from Sweden, and one still remaining from a stay in Hertfordshire. I cored but not peeled them, chopped them up, and cooked lightly in a little water on the stove. I tossed a handful of blackberries in with them to give it some colour and tang up the taste. I added a spoon of muscovado sugar and a level teaspoon of cinnamon. The crumble mix was 4 ounces of white flour to which a dessert spoon of oat bran and a dessert spoon of oats had been added. I used sunflower spread as shortening and used a fork against the side of the bowl to work it into a nice crumbly texture. I baked it for 30 minutes, and served it hot with crème fraiche as a very tasty, and almost free, dessert.