Apple Crumble Muffins

A classic apple crumble in the form of a muffin with apple chunks, a crumble topping and drizzles of custard!

I'm 99 per cent certain that when autumn comes around, a lot of Britons will be excited to have an apple crumble. I'm assuming it will be on a Sunday after a warm roast dinner, nothing like a hearty meal to end the week. So yes whilst apple crumbles are kindred to our autumn aesthetic, I wanted to make something closely related but also a little different. And that is my apple crumble muffins. I know its not original, there are many apple crumble muffins recipes you could find out there, but none with custard mind you, which I feel is pivotal to an apple crumble. Plus these are a little different to my apple cinnamon breakfast muffins and a little bigger ;). These apple crumble muffins are more of a snack/dessert type food, you could have an indulgent breakfast by all means, but best saved for later. I hope you enjoy this recipe, its really simple and if you've got extra custard by all means dollop a lot more on than I did!

If you love apples and muffins....

Check out my other recipes for more inspiration!

• Vegan Banana and Peanut Butter Muffins
• Irish Apple Cake
• Apple Banana Bread

Recipe

Prep: 20 minutes

Cook: 20 minutes

Serves: 12

Notes:

• For the crumble, you really want the butter to be cold and not too soft as it won't hold its shape. The crumble will just melt when baking and will combine with the muffin batter so its essential the butter is firm enough to rub into the flour. 
• You can totally make your own custard for these muffins if you're up to it, but as you don't need very much its much easier to use a packet of custard powder and I wanted this recipe to be simple with ingredients that are easy to get. 

Ingredients

Crumble topping

• 60g light brown sugar
• 15g caster sugar
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 50g butter, cold
• 75g plain flour

Muffins

• 190g plain flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 100g butter, room temp
• 90g light brown sugar
• 45g caster sugar
• 2 large eggs, room temp
• 160ml whole milk + 1tbsp lemon juice
• 160g apples, cored and chopped
• x1 packet Birds instant custard

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 210℃ (fan assisted) / 230℃ (conventional) and line a muffin tray with 12 muffin liners.
2. Make the crumble topping first. In a bowl add the dry ingredients and mix together.
3. Then cube the butter and rub it in to the dry ingredients till you have large breadcrumbs. Keep in the fridge till ready to use.
4. Make the muffins. In a large bowl add the sugars and butter. Use an electric hand-whisk or standing mixer and beat them together till combined and a fluffy texture.
5. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing in between.
6. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, cinnamon, bicarb, baking powder and salt. 
7. In a jug, add the lemon juice to the milk to create a buttermilk. 
8. Add a third of the flour mixture into the bowl with the sugar and egg mixture and mix in.
9. Then add a little of the buttermilk and mix.
10. Repeat this two more times ending with the milk till you have a smooth muffin batter.
11. Fold the apples through, then use two spoons to divide the muffin batter into the prepared liners.
12. Remove the crumble from the fridge and sprinkle this on top of each muffin, pressing down lightly so it sticks to the batter.
13. Bake for 5 minutes at 210℃ then turn the temperature down to 175℃ and bake for a further 15 minutes. The muffins should look a dark golden brown.
14. Once baked, leave the muffins to cool for 5 minutes in the tray then remove onto a wire rack to cool completely. 
15. Follow the instructions on the custard packet to make the custard - you simply need some boiling water from the kettle and mix into the custard powder to your desired consistency. I like mine a little thick, but thin enough to drizzle on top of the muffins but whatever your preference is do that. 
16. These muffins are best stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days, ideally bring to room temp about 15 minutes before eating. Enjoy!

Christina

xx