Wholesome Homemade Crumbles with Seasonal Fruits and Oat Toppings
Written by jheelum basu | October 27, 2025
Homemade crumbles with seasonal fruits, a classic comfort food with British origin, is a perfect dessert all around the year, especially during the winter.
History suggests that the British roots of the dessert come with a World War II anecdote. These homemade crumbles came into existence as a simpler and economical replacement for apple pie due to food rationing owing to prevalent scarcity amid the war.
Homemade crumbles are best defined as a baked dessert featuring a fruity base and filling topped with a crunchy, streusel-like layer made from flour, butter, oats (optional), and sugar. After baking, while the top layer remains crunchy, the fruity layers underneath become soft and gooey.
To attain the crunchy texture of the crumble topping, mix cold cubes of butter with flour, oats, and sugar, and pulse them into rough breadcrumbs. You may stir in a pinch of salt as well. You may customize the topping with added crunch from almond flakes, dried fruits, and seeds. Once made, just add the crumble mixture on top of your fruity base and filling, and bake it.
Over the past few decades, the homemade crumble recipes have come a long way. From apple, berry, and rhubarb to peach, plum, and apricot- what came as a simple substitute for apple has now diversified into a full-fledged mainstream dessert item with lots of flavors and varieties. Here, we have crafted a few of the homemade crumbles for you to try at home. Let’s jump in !!
1. Apple Crumble
Apple Crumble, also known as Apple Crisp to many, is the most popular homemade crumble. Just imagine nice, caramelized apples on the bottom with a baked, crispy crumble on top. Yes, that’s Apple Crumble for you. To further enhance the flavor profile, cinnamon is an ideal choice.
To prepare the classic dish, assemble flour, sugar, butter, and oats, the basic ingredients for the crumble topping. If you need more crunch, you may consider adding almond flakes, nuts, and dried fruits of your choice. Now, pour the crumbles over the peeled and diced apples mixed with maple syrup, cinnamon, and allow it to bake at 180°C for 20-25 minutes.
2. Berry Crumble
This variety of homemade crumbles features a warm, gooey, baked berrylicious filling made from mixed berries, topped with a sweet, crumbly topping of flour, sugar, butter, and oats. This simple yet very popular dessert can be made with fresh or frozen berries. It is often served warm with ice cream or whipped cream.
For the berry filling, you may consider a mixture of various berries, such as blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, and blackberries, with added sugar, lemon juice, or a pinch of spice for flavor. Once baking is done, you may serve the simple dessert with a generous dollop of vanilla ice cream.
3. Rhubarb Crumble
Rhubarb Crumble is another classic version of the dish, especially when the air is slowly turning chill in the evening. Ideally, rhubarb should be categorised as a vegetable as the stem is eaten and not the fruit. It finds ample use in sweet dishes such as compotes, pies, and crumbles.
To prepare the Rhubarb Crumble, you may start by tossing rhubarb with white sugar, orange or lemon juice, and zest, and spreading it in a baking dish to form the fruity base. Now add butter, brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, oats, and salt in a food processor and pulse it for about 20 or 30 seconds. Once done, add the topping over the rhubarb base and bake until golden and beginning to brown.
4. Peach Crumble
A cinnamon-spiced peach filling with a homemade crumble topping is ideal for many occasions. This incredibly simple and fuss-free dessert requires less than 10 minutes of work. The crispy, buttery crumble with the warm, soft, and juicy peaches never fails to invoke a heavenly feeling with every single bite.
5. Spiced baked quince with walnut crumble
This variety of homemade crumbles adds a spicy tone to the baked dessert. As the name suggests, here the base is made from spicy quince, while the crumble includes the added crunchiness of walnut and oats. This perfect dessert balances the flavors of sweetness with warming spices.
Slow baking plays a crucial role in this dish, as it transforms the fruit infused with honey, brown sugar, and aromatic spice into a soft, gooey consistency, and a crunchy walnut topping adds the perfect contrast.
6. Plum Crumble
To make this simple yet delicious version of homemade crumbles, simply cover your sliced and cinnamon-spiced plums with a topping made from oats, flour, almond flakes, sugar, butter, and flour, and put it in the oven for the next 25 minutes before it turns into a delicious, sweet yet tart plum crumble. Then, serve it with a dollop of whipping cream or vanilla ice cream.
7. Apricot Crumble
Another popular variation of the dessert includes apricots. A Sweet, tangy, and crispy Apricot Crumble is a quick and easy dessert to enjoy on any occasion. Be it canned apricots or the fresh ones, use either to make the fruity base and filling before covering it with buttery crumble topping. This is an ultimate comfort dessert in winter. To make your loved ones happy, serve your crumble warm from the oven with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.