Crumble Topping for Any Fruit Pie
You have plenty of options for how to finish a fruit pie. Fruit pies use real pieces of fruit for their filling, like apple, blueberry, strawberry rhubarb, or peach. You can give them a double crust with a full top, weave a decorative lattice, or use another kind of topping instead. Popular choices for toppings include streusel or crisp topping, this classic crumble topping, or a variation of any of these. My caramel apple pie recipe, for example, features a buttery pecan crumble that bakes into a golden, nutty layer over the fruit.
Table of Contents
What is a Crumble Topping for a Pie?
Crumble topping, sometimes called crumb topping, is made with just a few simple ingredients: cold butter, sugar, and all-purpose flour. I like to use a mix of brown and white sugar with a pinch of salt for deeper flavor and a hint of caramel-like sweetness. Some people also add cinnamon or other warm spices, especially when making holiday pies.
A crumble topping is one of the most popular alternatives to a traditional top crust or lattice and much easier to master. The mixture is sprinkled generously over the fruit filling before the pie goes into the oven. As it bakes, the crumble melts and browns into a sweet, buttery layer with a crisp texture that contrasts beautifully with the soft fruit underneath.
What is the Difference Between Crumble, Crisp, and Streusel Toppings?
These three toppings correspond with the desserts they tend to top. Crumbles, crisps, streusels, and cobblers are all essentially crustless pies, and each dessert get its name from the topping it features. While the ingredients are often similar, the textures and baking styles vary enough to to make each a distinct category.
- Crumbles: Made with a simple mix of butter, sugar, and flour, crumble toppings bake into sweet, tender crumbs with a light, buttery crunch.
- Crisps: Very similar to crumbles, but with rolled oats added to the crumb topping for extra texture. This topping is sometimes called an “oat crumble.”
- Streusels: Have a topping with a more cookie-like texture, with slightly larger crumbles that bake into rich, crisp clusters.
- Cobblers: Cobblers use flaky pie crust on top but skip the bottom crust, creating a rustic dessert.
Step-by-Step Crumble Topping Recipe:
Crumble topping is surprisingly simple to make. After you’ve done it a few times, you’ll likely remember it by heart. It uses just four ingredients and takes only one step to bring together. This version makes enough crumble for two pies, with measurements that are simple to remember and easy to scale.
Ingredients
- 1 stick of Cold, Unsalted Butter, cubed (4oz, 113g)
- 1 cup of All-Purpose Flour (125g)
- ½ cup of Granulated Sugar (100g)
- ½ cup of Brown Sugar (100g)
- ¼t Salt
1.
In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, combine the all-purpose flour, sugars, and salt. Give the mixture a quick stir to blend the dry ingredients evenly.
2.
Add the cold, cubed butter and mix on low speed until the texture looks like wet sand and no large pieces of butter remain.
Pro Tip: The crumble should hold together when squeezed but still break apart easily into small, buttery pieces.
Tips for Making the Perfect Crumble Topping:
Crumble topping is quick and easy to make, but it can take a few tries to perfect. These tips will help you get the texture just right every time.
- Use Cold Butter: Just like when making pie dough, it’s important to use cold butter when making crumb topping. If you use soft or melted butter, you risk overmixing and creating a cookie-dough-like mixture instead of a crumbly one. Cold butter prevents overmixing and keeps the texture light, flaky, and buttery.
- How to Fix Undermixed Crumble Topping: Fixing undermixed crumble is easy as long as you haven’t baked your pie yet. Just remove the crumble layer, return it to the mixer, and mix for a few more seconds until butter chunks and the sandy texture are gone.
- Know When It’s Just Mixed: It’s important to avoid both overmixing and undermixing your crumb topping. The mixture should look evenly blended, with no visible flour pockets or large chunks of butter left behind.
- Undermixed Crumb Topping: Undermixed crumb topping still contains big pieces of butter and dry patches that haven’t absorbed enough moisture to hold together. If you bake it that way, you may see holes in the finished topping where the butter melted away and sandy areas where dry flour remained.
- Overmixed Crumb Topping: Overmixed crumb topping has been mixed too long, until it no longer crumbles apart but holds together like a thick dough. When baked, it sets up with more of a cookie texture rather than a tender, buttery crumble.
- How to Fix Overmixed Crumble Topping: Fixing overmixed crumble is a bit more challenging, but still possible. You can break the mixture apart into very small, pea-sized pieces by hand and sprinkle them over your pie. The final texture will be slightly different, leaning more toward a streusel than a crumb topping, but it will still bake up sweet, crisp, and delicious.
How to Make a Crumble Topping without a Stand Mixer:
If you plan to bake often, few tools are as useful as a stand mixer. A reliable stand mixer is one of the most versatile and time-saving appliances in any baker’s kitchen. However, if you only bake a few times a year, are just getting started, or simply don’t have the counter space, you can still make a perfect crumble topping by hand. All you’ll need is a pastry cutter and a box grater.
Use the same recipe, and after combining your flour, sugars, and salt, grate the cold butter directly into the bowl using a box grater. Grating breaks the butter into small, even pieces, which shortens the time it takes to mix everything together by hand. Then, use your pastry cutter to “cut” the butter into the dries, working the cutter repeatedly through the bowl until the butter chunks disappear and the mixture looks like wet sand.
“Cutting” butter into the dries means pressing the sharp edge of the pastry cutter down vertically into the mixture, then rocking it back and forth in a quick, downward motion until the butter is fully incorporated.
Variations of Crumble Topping for Fruit Pies:
Crumble topping is endlessly customizable and easy to adapt to any flavor profile. You can add spices, chopped nuts, or even cocoa powder to match the style of your pie and the season you’re baking for.
- Pumpkin Spice Crumble Topping: Add ½ teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice to your crumble mixture for a warm, festive flavor that pairs beautifully with fall fruit pies.
- Cinnamon Crumble Topping: For extra warmth and aroma, mix in ½ teaspoon of cinnamon. It adds depth and enhances the natural sweetness of the fruit.
- Chocolate Crumble Topping: Add 2 tablespoons of unsweetened cocoa powder to the crumble for a subtle chocolate flavor that works especially well with cherry pies.
- Brown Sugar Crumble Topping: You can use any type of sugar in this recipe, but for richer flavor, replace the white sugar with all brown sugar to create a deeper, caramel-like sweetness.
Make Ahead and Storage Tips for Crumble Topping:
This crumble topping recipe makes enough for two standard 9-inch pies, but it’s also perfect for making in advance. Crumble keeps extremely well in the freezer, so you can have it ready whenever a pie craving strikes. Simply prepare a batch, transfer it to a freezer-safe zip-top bag, and store it for up to three months. When you’re ready to use it, there’s no need to thaw it. You can just sprinkle the frozen crumble evenly over your pie before baking and it will bake up golden, crisp, and buttery.
We’d love to see your crumble pie creations! If you give this recipe a try, tag @doggone_baking on social media so we can share in the baking fun.
Crumble Topping for Any Pie
Ingredients
- 4 oz Unsalted Butter, cold, cubed (113g)
- 1 cup All-Purpose Flour (125g)
- ½ cup Granulated Sugar (100g)
- ½ cup Brown Sugar (100g)
- ¼ tsp Salt
Instructions
- In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, combine the all-purpose flour, sugars, and salt. Give the mixture a quick stir to blend the dry ingredients evenly.
- Add the cold, cubed butter and mix on low speed until the texture looks like wet sand and no large pieces of butter remain.
One Comment
A good crumble topping can make any pie a real winner. Thanks for sharing, really like the variation recipes near the end.