Serves: 5-6
Preparation time: 30-35 minutes
Cooking time: 40-45 minutes

Ingredients:
For the fruit mixture-
1 kg fresh ripe apricots, stoned and cut into quarters
60 g white sugar
Finely grated zest of an orange
2-3 tablespoons orange juice

For the crumble topping-
185 g plain flour
125 g unsalted butter, diced, plus extra for greasing
60 g caster sugar
30 g flaked almonds, optional
To serve: fresh cream or mascarpone cheese

Method:
Preheat the oven to 200 degrees C. Butter a shallow 1.5 liter ovenproof dish. Arrange the apricots in the dish and sprinkle each layer with sugar. Add the orange zest and juice. To make the crumble topping, sift the flour into a bowl and rub in the butter until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Stir in the sugar and continue to rub in until the mixture begins to cling together in crumbs.

Spread the crumble evenly over the fruit and press down lightly. Sprinkle with almond, if using. Bake for 25-30 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 180 degrees C and continue cooking for a further 15 minutes until the top is well browned and the fruit is tender. Serve the crumble warm, with fresh cream or spoonfuls of thick mascarpone cheese.

Variations-
Blackberries and blueberries, rhubarb, apples and quinces, can also be very successfully cooked in a crumble. Put them into the prepared dish and sprinkle 60 g of light brown sugar and 2 tablespoons of water over them instead of the orange zest and juice. Then cover with crumble topping and cook as in the recipe. You can also add 1 tablespoon of fruit-flavored liqueur or brandy to the filling.

** Asian Recipes **