I was cleaning out my freezer and I found the last of some of last summer's blackberries buried at the back. A little sad and freezer burned, but still just about salvageable. The perfect opportunity to try the schlumpf from the excellent cookbook A New Way to Dinner that I have been wanting to make since I got the book.

It's just like a fruit crumble but with an amazing fruit to topping ratio of about 1:1. So you get to really maximize on all that toasty, cinnamonny crumb goodness. Plus schlumpf is way more fun to say. You can switch out the fruit, add nuts to the topping - the variations are endless. I threw my sad blackberries in with some granny smith apples and a bit more sad freezer fruit, a little syrup poached quince I found hiding under the blackberries. Whatever you have hiding out in there will be immensely improved by inclusion in a schlumpf. And it will assuage your guilt over having let them get lost for months in the freezer.

apple & blackberry schlumpf:

adapted from A New Way to Dinner

topping:

2 cups flour
1 cup + 2 tbs butter, cut into cubes
1 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup rolled oats
1 tsp cinnamon

Blitz everything but oats in a food processor until will combined and beginning to form sandy looking clumps. Add oats and pulse the food processor a couple more times.

filling:

6 cups sliced apples
2 cups blackberries
1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Toss all ingredients in a large bowl until fruit is well coated.

Preheat oven to 350 F. Spread fruit in a quarter bun pan. Sprinkle the topping over the fruit, breaking up any too-big clumps into pea sized bits. Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until the topping is golden and the fruit is bubbling up from below.

Serve with a little cream or ice cream.