Autumn is here! The leaves on the trees in my garden in Kent are a riot of colours, from burnished orange to saffron yellow to ruby red to aubergine red. The air has a distinct chill, and the mornings and evening grow darker by the day. As one begins to hear the delicate tap tap tap of winter’s icy fingers, the body begins to grave food of the most filling and comforting variety. And for me, crumble – that traditional British classic – comes high on the list.

What I love about crumble is its versatility. You can use an abundance of different types of fruit, from blackberry to apple, peach to cherry, rhubarb to pear, plum to strawberry. You can opt for a light, crunchy crumble, or a denser, more filling topping, perhaps with a touch of lemon or cinnamon for flavour. Once cooked, the dessert is delicious with cream or ice cream or custard – or mashed down, it is an excellent ingredient in ice cream itself.

So many different recipes for crumble are available, the choice is bewildering. I think each cook comes up with his or her preferred method and recipe for the top, and can then experiment happily with the fruit filling. Here are some tips to make sure your crumble turns out delicious and heart-warming (and not stodgy):

• Use fresh fruits, not canned. For apple crumble, use Bramley apples and sprinkle on sugar.
• Use only the best ingredients – and make sure the butter is unsalted.
• Add some porridge oats to the crumble for a good texture – I like to sprinkle them over the top so they don’t soak up too much moisture.
• Don’t limit yourself to white caser sugar – light brown sugar gives a lovely flavour; and if you like your crumble mixture gritty, try a little demerara.
• Rub the butter in by hand, rather than using a food processor. Doing so helps achieve a crumbly consistency, rather than too-fine grains. Plus, I always think rubbing together butter and a flour mixture is much of the fun of cooking – therapeutic.
• Try a broken up Weetabix on top or gingernut biscuits; they add a lovely crunch.

Pop in the oven on a low heat, and remove when the topping is cooked through – brown on top with juices from the fruit bubbling up. Allow to rest for a couple of minutes and then serve. I like making crumbles in individual ramekins, and if you do so you’ll find it’s easy to make extra – crumble is one of the best puddings for freezing. Enjoy!