A Caribbean twist on apple crumble
Crumble has to be one of our favourite desserts, so we’ve added in one of our favourite plant-based ingredients: plantain,” say Shaun and Craig McAnuff, the brothers behind Original Flava.
“Plantain honestly makes everything a hundred times better, and it’s no different in this heavenly crumble. Chunks of it with apples, caramelised in a buttery spiced mixture… We just can’t get enough of this crumble, and nor will you.
“The riper the plantain, the sweeter the crumble will taste.” To make your plantains overripe, just pop them in the oven at 180C fan/200C/gas mark 6 for about 15 minutes.
Plantain and apple crumble
Serves: 4-6
Ingredients:
1 tbsp vegan butter
3 apples, cored and cut into 2cm chunks
3 ripe plantain, peeled and cut into 2cm chunks
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1 tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1 bay leaf
A little salt
300ml apple juice
For the crumble:
225g plain flour
125g soft light brown sugar
125g vegan butter, cubed
Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 180C fan/200C/gas mark 6.
2. First, make the crumble. In a mixing bowl, combine the flour and sugar. Add the butter and rub it into the dry ingredients with your fingertips until you have a crumbly, even mixture. Set aside.
3. For the filling, melt the butter in a large pan over a low-medium heat, add the apples and toss around to cook for two to three minutes, then add the plantain, stir and cook for two to three minutes until the edges of the fruit begin to get a bit of colour and soften. Add the vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, bay leaf and salt, and stir to combine. Finally, add 200ml apple juice, stir everything together and simmer for one to two minutes.
4. Tip the apple and plantain mixture into a large ovenproof dish, about 23 centimetres square, and remove the bay leaf. Add the rest of the apple juice to the mixture, sprinkle the crumble evenly on top and bake in the oven for 35–40 minutes until the crumble is cooked and golden brown.
Recipe from ‘Natural Flava: Quick And Easy Plant-Based Caribbean Recipes’ by Craig and Shaun McAnuff (published by Bloomsbury, £22; photography by Matt Russell), available now.
