How to make crumble topping (2024)

FAQs

What is the secret to good crumble? ›

As its name suggests, crumb topping is a dessert topping. It's a simple mixture of butter, sugar, and flour, and is typically used to top pies or muffins prior to baking for a crunchy, sweet contrast.

Not enough butter, and your topping will be a dry, floury mess. Too much butter and your topping will become a greasy blob or disappointingly soggy. Some recipes will ask you to cut in cold butter along with your dry ingredients, resulting in pea-size pieces that are sprinkled across the hot fruit filling.

Crumble topping is a combination of only 3 simple ingredients: butter, flour, and sugar. It adds the perfect sweetness and crunch to any muffin, quick bread, or pie!

A crisp contains oats in the topping, while a crumble does not. Baking powder can also be added to a crumble topping (like it is here) to ensure it's extra light and tender.

Double-baking the crumb topping keeps it wonderfully crisp over its jammy fruit filling.

This can't be easier for perfect results every time. If you are wondering what the difference is between crumb topping and streusel, not much is the answer. Both are crumb toppings containing the same ingredients but streusel often has more sugar, cinnamon, nuts and or oats included.

When adding to cakes, be sure to add it to thick, dense batters. Thin, liquidy batters will cause the crumble topping to sink instead of staying on top of the cake.

Most crisps and crumbles (two names for essentially the same thing) are squishy and jammy, with a luscious fruity cushion beneath a shaggy brown-sugar blanket that might contain a few nuts, with or without oats, as a vague attempt at crunch.

Cold is better. You want to break up the butter into pieces and you want the pieces to stick to the butter. If it's warm, the butter won't “break” because it will smear and the fat will stick to the pieces, which is the opposite of what you want.

Why is my crumble topping doughy? ›

Why does my crumble topping look like dough? This is usually down to the butter being too warm when mixed together.

Either the oven is not hot enough or you don't have enough fat and/or sugar in the topping. Browning is from caramelization of the sugar, not toasting the oats or flour.

Why Is My Crumble So Soggy? Once again, it's likely due to using the wrong amount of butter. The most common culprit of a soggy crumble is the use of too much butter! Try adding just a bit more flour to soak it up.

I'd just sprinkle it on fruit. Any combination of apples, pears and peaches would be nice, even if the fruit is canned. Leave the fruit a bit moist, sprinkle on the topping, and bake until the fruit is hot and the topping is toasted.

Cobbler: A fruit dessert made with a top crust of pie dough or biscuit dough but no bottom crust. Crisp/crumble: In Alberta, the terms are mostly interchangeable. Both refer to fruit desserts similar to cobbler but made with a brown sugar streusel topping sometimes containing old-fashioned rolled oats.

Use a shallowish dish if you've got a wet fruit mixture, otherwise the crumble will start to dissolve before it's baked.

Flatten down with your hand to prevent too much crumble falling through. Put 175g plain flour and 110g golden caster sugar in a bowl with a good pinch of salt. Slice in 110g cold butter and rub it in with your fingertips until the mixture looks like moist breadcrumbs.

Tips For Making a Classic Fruit Crumble

Use cold butter and work it into the flour mixture for a pastry-like topping. The top should be brown and the filling should be bubbling. In order to thicken properly, the cornstarch in the filling must boil.