Serves 4
March is a great time of year to eat savoy cabbages and here is a great way to cook one.
Take advantage of this seasons’ forced rhubarb and pair with apples to make this easy crumble for Mothers Day. As well as fruity it is gently spiced with ginger and fennel but vanilla, cinnamon, cardamom and star anise would all work well here too – perfect with lashings of hot custard or cold double cream.

Ingredients
500g cooking apples, peeled and chopped
250g rhubarb, cut into 1cm chunks
75g + 2 tbsp soft brown sugar
2 balls stem ginger in syrup, grated
100g wholemeal flour
75g oats
1 pinch salt
½ tsp fennel seeds, ground with a pestle and mortar
75g unsalted butter, cold
Serve with Vanilla custard, double cream, crème fraîche, ice-cream or natural yoghurt.
Method
- Preheat the oven to 200°C
- Place the apples and rhubarb into a large bowl and toss with 2 tbsp sugar and 2 tbsp syrup from the stem ginger. Tip into a oven proof dish about 1 ½ litre capacity
- Into another large bowl place the remaining sugar, flour, oats, salt, grated stem ginger, fennel, then grate in the cold butter and rub together with your finger tips and finish by stirring in 1-2 tbsp cold water
- Sprinkle the crumble mixture over the fruit and bake on a tray for about 40 minutes
- Serve with custard, cream or whatever mum loves best!
Recipe by Charlotte Simpkins for Freely Fruity