I was going to make this for Christmas day dessert but in the end I'd already made so much food that I decided it would be best to wait a few days to make it. I'm glad I did because we were able to enjoy it.

I'm not sure I would call this a traditional crumble. I've made a few in the past and the top always came out soggy. So I threw in what I thought were the best parts. The top made a nice sweet, crunchy crust. You could make substitutions and throw in your favorite nut or raisins instead.

Ingredients

For the base

300g shortcrust pastry

4 large Bramley apples

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup flour

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp nutmeg

pinch of salt

2 tbs butter

3 tbs toasted almonds

For the topping

6 tbs flour

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup dark chocolate chips (or raisins)

2 tbs ground almonds

2 tbs melted butter

1 tsp cinnamon (to sprinkle on top)

1. Preheat the oven to 424 F/ 220 C. Line a pie dish with the pastry and trim the edges. Peel, core and chop the apples.

2. In a large bowl mix the apples, sugar, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, almonds and salt. Spoon the mixture into the pie shell.  Cut the 2 tablespoons of butter into cubes and scatter over top of the apples.

3. To make the crumble topping mix the brown sugar, flour, ground almonds, chocolate chips together in a small bowl. Pour the melted butter over top and gently mix together. Spoon over top of the apples. Sprinkle the cinnamon on top.

4. Cover the top with tin foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the tin foil and bake for 15 more minutes. Cool before slicing and serving.