These apple crumble slices combine a buttery oat crumble with a creamy condensed milk and grated apple filling. Perfect for a simple dessert or snack, this recipe offers comforting flavours with a satisfying crunch.
These apple crumble slices are a delicious twist on the classic crumble dessert, offering a sweet, portable treat that’s perfect for any time of day. With a creamy apple filling and a buttery, nutty, oat crumble topping, these slices are easy to make yet bursting with flavour. Whether you’re hosting a get-together or just want something comforting to enjoy with tea, this recipe has you covered.
The blend of condensed milk and grated apple creates a luscious, rich filling that contrasts beautifully with the wholesome crunch of the crumble. It’s a comforting bake, bringing together warm, autumnal flavours that make it perfect for the cooler months.
These are a Fall inspired version of a bake within a cookbook that I have. When Fall comes around, apples start to appear in all my bakes as they are my favourite seasonal fruit at this time of year. Intrigued to see the original recipe flavour – you can find it in the Life is Sweet cookbook.
Star Ingredient
Oats are the unsung hero of any crumble topping, offering more than just texture—they transform the entire dessert. Their subtle earthy flavour blends beautifully with the sweetness of apples and condensed milk, giving the crumble a heartier, more rustic feel. Plus, oats hold their structure when baked, providing a satisfying crunch that contrasts the soft, gooey filling. Whether you use rolled oats or jumbo oats, they create a crumble topping that’s irresistibly moreish. This simple ingredient takes the dessert from good to unforgettable.
How to Purchase Ingredients to be Conscious to the Planet
For the crumble components of this recipe, you can buy everything in bulk from zero waste shops and avoid some unnecessary plastic. Light brown sugar can be a great swap to pick up in zero waste shops and glass jars are perfect vessels. Alternatively, you could have a go at making it yourself. Oats are also a favourite at zero waste shops. The tend to come in plastic bags especially when looking for larger quantities. I have my bulk food bags that work so well for oats. I’m disappointed that they do not seem to be sold anymore (you can find some on resell sites).
Nuts and dried fruit are staples to pick up from zero waste shops to reduce packaging waste. Like the oats, they are packaged within plastic packets when shopping at supermarkets. There are so much variety in these categories that are available you can you get as much or as little as you like – perfect for snacking as well as baking. Haven’t got a zero-waste store near you, check out ones online that ship nationwide. You can find some of my favourites here.
Apples are in season end of August through to October, so support local farmer’s markets and PYO orchards during this period. Farm shops and supermarkets will tend to have apples loose (or at least some options). Keep a handy net bag available to help hold them all together in your basket.
If you are really into reducing waste, and are up for making your own brown sugar, why not make butter as well. Needing one ingredient, it is a fun process and feels so rewarding at the end.
Ingredients you can buy Plastic Free
- Light Brown Sugar
- Plain Flour
- Baking Powder
- Cinnamon
- Salt
- Condensed Milk
- Apples
- Dried Apple Rings / Dried Apple Cubes
- Flaked Almonds
Ingredients you can Make
Equipment You Will Need
- 10 Inch Square Loose Bottom Cake Tin
- Baking Parchment Paper
- Freestanding Mixer with beater and whisk attachment or Bowl with Handhold Mixer
- Spatula
- Scissors (optional)
- Cooling Rack
Tips and Tricks when Baking Apple Crumble Squares
Cutting Dried Apple
If you have picked up dried apple cubes, you can simply sprinkle them over the filling. If you have apple rings, then we will need to make them smaller. To do this, I recommend scissors. This makes it super quick and easy. Plus you don’t need a chopping board then which creates more washing up.
Have a Nut Allergy?
If you are not able to have nuts, you can easily leave out the flaked almonds. They are just an extra to add a bit of additional crunch to the top crumble leave. Whether they are there or not isn’t going to impact on the overall finish of these apple crumble slices.
Alternatively, if you do enjoy nuts but almonds are not you favourite, you can swap them. Try adding in chopped walnut or pecans into the crumble topping.
Cinnamon isn’t your Spice
Cinnamon is the perfect pairing to apples in my opinion so I will add it to pretty much all my apple recipes. It is small amount so it shouldn’t be overpowering. It can be swapped out for nutmeg, ginger or mixed spice. Alternatively, you could also add some apple pie spice into the filling for a mix of everything. You can find a recipe to make your own apple pie spice here.
Cutting your Apple Crumble Slices
In the recipe, I suggest cutting into 12 slices. This creates long thin slices. However, you feel these are too big of a portion for you, you could then cut each in half to make 24 squares. Alternatively, if you want more square squares, you can cut into as many squares as you wish.
Apple Crumble Slices
Equipment
- 10 Inch Square Loose Bottom Cake Tin
- Baking Parchment Paper
- Freestanding Mixer with beater and whisk attachment or Bowl with Handhold Mixer
- Spatula
- Scissors (optional)
- Cooling rack
Ingredients
Crumble Mix
- 200 g Light Brown Sugar
- 115 g Butter / Plant Butter / Margarine
- 180 g Plain Flour
- 1 Teaspoon Baking Powder
- ½ Teaspoon Cinnamon
- ½ Teaspoon Salt
- 90 g Oats
- 20 g Flaked Almonds
Apple Filling
- 1 Tin of Condensed Milk 397g
- 1 Large Apple or 2 Small Apples peeled and finely grated
- 50 g Dried Apple cut into cubes
Instructions
- Line your loose bottom cake tin with baking parchment paper.
- In a bowl of freestanding mixer add in the butter and brown sugar and beat together for 5 minutes on a medium speed until pale and fluffy.
- Add in the plain flour, cinnamon, baking powder, salt and oats and beat on a low speed until it forms breadcrumbs
- Put half of the breadcrumb crumble mix into the cake tin and press it down to form a base, and then set aside.
- Preheat the oven to 175 degrees.
- In a clean bowl for your freestanding mixer, add in the condensed milk and grated apple along with the apple juice from the grating process.
- Whisk together with your whisk attachment to combine.
- Pour the filling over the base, and use a spatula as required to make it go it all the edges.
- Sprinkle over the cubed dried apples over the top of the filling ensuring it is evenly distributed.
- Add the flaked almonds into the remaining crumble mix and gently stir through.
- Sprinkle the crumble mix over the top of the filling.
- Bake in the middle shelf of oven for 20-25 minutes until the top is starting to brown.
- Remove from the oven and pop the tin on a cooling rack and allow to cool for 30-45 minutes.
- Then pop the tin into the fridge and chill for a minimum of 1 hour.
- Remove from the fridge and carefully remove from the tin.
- Cut into 12 slices by dividing the crumble square in half and then into 6 along the other side.
- Store in an airtight tin in the fridge.
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