The Home Economics Bit
The Rubbing In Method
The rubbing in method is a technique used in baking where flour is rubbed into a fat to make dishes such as crumbles, scones and shortcrust pastry. Using your fingertips, the flour and butter are rubbed together until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.

Butterscotch Apple Crumble
This delicious apple crumble recipe is adapted from a recipe I found in The Complete Cookbook for Children published by Dorling Kindersley Limited, London.
Ingredients
- 650 g cooking apples peeled, cored and sliced
- 75 g light muscovado sugar
- 25 g butter
- Finely grated zest and juice of 1/2 lemon
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 100 ml water
For the crumble
- 125 g plain gluten free flour sieved
- 75 g butter diced
- 25 g gluten free oats
- 50 g caster sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C.
- Peel and core the apples.
- Slice the apples thinly and and place them into the bottom of an oven proof dish.
- Place the sugar, butter, lemon zest and juice, and salt in a saucepan with water. Bring to the boil, stirring occasionally, until the sugar has dissolved and the butter has melted.
- Pour the butterscotch over the sliced apples and stir with a wooden spoon until the apples are coated evenly in the sauce.
- Dice the butter and add it to a large mixing bowl along with the sieved flour.
- Rub the butter into the flour until the mixture looks like breadcrumbs.
- Stir in the gluten free oats and the sugar.
- Spoon the crumble on top of the apples and bake in the preheated oven for 35 to 40 minutes, until bubbling and golden.
- Delicious served warm with with homemade custard or vanilla ice cream.