Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s classic apple and blackberry apple crumble is the perfect autumnal pudding. To make the crumble, mix the orange and lemon zest and juice together in a large bowl. Peel, core and thinly slice the apples, dropping them into the bowl as you do so, and tossing the apples in the juice occasionally.

Transfer the apples and juice to a fairly large saucepan and add the sugar. Add the blackberries and taste for sweetness and stir in a little more sugar, only if you think it needs it. Allow to cool completely before you assemble the crumble. Meanwhile, to make the crumble topping put all the ingredients except the seeds in a food processor and blitz to form a crumbly mixture, then transfer to a bowl.

Alternatively, put the ingredients into a large bowl and rub together with your fingers until the mixture comes together as a crumbly mix. Once combined, stir in the seeds. Place in the fridge until needed. Smooth the apple and blackberries down in a large baking dish with a spoon to form a level surface, then crumble the topping mix over the apple and blackberries in a generous chunky layer. 30 minutes, until the topping is golden-brown and the fruit is bubbling. To make the custard, put the milk and cream into a saucepan with the vanilla pod and seeds, if using.

Bring to just below the boil, then take off the heat and leave to cool for 10 minutes. Beat the egg yolks, sugar, and cornflour, if using, together in a bowl. Slowly pour the warm milk over the eggs, whisking as you do so, then tip in the vanilla pod, if using. Return the mixture to the pan and place over a medium-low heat. As soon as the custard is thickened, take it off the heat and keep stirring for a minute or two longer to help it cool a little without cooking any further. If you haven’t used the whole vanilla pod, add the vanilla extract now.

Remove the custard from the heat as soon as it is hot and keep stirring to stop it cooking any further. Transfer to a warmed jug to serve. Serve the crumble with a generous helping of custard and enjoy! If you want to stop a skin forming, cover the surface with a piece of baking paper. Leave to cool completely and keep in the fridge.

The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking. Nigel Slater’s apple crumble balances tart Bramleys with an oat crumble topping that’s made extra crunchy by demerara sugar. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.

What should you be cooking this month? Obviously any sort of fruit can be used here. I love it with berries or apricots in summer, in spring it’s good with rhubarb, and in autumn I use half blackberries and half apples. Whatever fruit you use, though, the great thing about the topping is that it bakes to a lovely short, crumbly crispness, which, combined with the toasted almonds, makes it the best ever. Now cut them into thickish slices and toss them in a bowl with the sugar, cinnamon and ground cloves, then place them in the baking dish. For the crumble all you do is place the butter, sifted flour, cinnamon and sugar in a processor and give it a whiz till it resembles crumbs.