Crumble - Do Something Nice For Your Man

I don't know any men who don't like crumble.  It's such boy food.  Seeing as it's Father's Day approaching and seeing as us Mums are busy people, if you've not got a present planned, you could do worse than this.  Also in the spirit of frugal week, the upside is you probably have many of the ingredients in the house or might be able to beg, borrow or scrounge from relatives.

Fruit Crumble

Ingredients

Fruit

Fruit of your choice.  I have used gooseberries in my crumble today because they're in season and my Mother in Law gave me some but you could use apples, rhubarb, raspberries, blackcurrants, blackberries or a combination are good.  I've kept it vague here on quantities because different fruit cooks down to different amounts.  If you think you've not got enough fruit, pad it out with peeled chopped cooking or eating apples.
Sugar to taste (see method).

Crumble

4oz Plain Flour
2oz Salted Butter
2oz Granulated Sugar
Nutmeg, freshly ground (optional)
Ground Cinnamon (optional)

Method

Peel the fruit if necessary or top and tail etc.  Chop into sensible sized pieces and stew with a bit of water if necessary and stew (simmer on the stove) until it's soft to your liking.  I like the filling soft but my mum doesn't and leaves the fruit more whole.  Add a small amount of sugar and taste, add more if needed but remember to leave the fruit tart.

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees centigrade.

For the crumble topping, rub the butter into the flour with half of the sugar and spices if using.  It's better to do this by hand because the irregularity in pieces helps the texture but if you're short of time or don't like getting hands dirty, use a food processor.  Sprinkle the crumble on top followed by the remaining sugar.  Bake for 25 mins approx or until browned to your liking.

Leave to cool a little then serve with custard, cream or ice-cream.  I'm wary about recommendations.  My Father in Law has rules on these things, men are very particular...