If you’ve still got apples left over from the autumn, this is a hearty comfort pudding which you can serve from the BBQ straight to the table and dive in with a big spoon. My mum used to add dates into her apple crumble so I’ve added them to both the apple base and the nutty, oaty topping. They add extra sweetness and a lovely chewy texture. If you don’t have dates or nuts for the topping, then you can add two tablespoons of granola or muesli into the mixture instead. You can also use cranberries or other dried fruit in with the apples.

Ingredients

serves 6

INGREDIENTS – APPLE BASE

6 apples, cored but not peeled

6 tbsp caster sugar

Pinch of cinnamon

Few drops of vanilla paste

75g dates, chopped

Zest & juice of 1 lemon

INGREDIENTS – TOPPING

100g plain flour

50g unsalted butter cut into cubes

2 tbsp demerera sugar

Pinch of cinnamon

2 tbsp oats

30g chopped hazelnuts

25g dates, chopped

Method

1. I cooked this on my Kamado Joe Classic set up for half direct cooking and half indirect.

2. First make the topping. Tip the flour and butter into a bowl and rub together with your fingertips until it resembles breadcrumbs. Add in the demerera sugar, cinnamon, oats, nuts and chopped dates. Stir and set aside.

3. Grate three of the apples, including the skins, into a bowl.

4. Chop the remaining three apples and put into a separate bowl.

5. Place your skillet pan on to the grill above the direct heat and warm up. Add the caster sugar evenly on the base and slowly let it caramelise. Resist the temptation to stir it, just gently swirl the caramel around the pan to help the sugar dissolve.

6. Add in the grated apple along with the lemon juice and zest, cinnamon, vanilla paste and stir. Then tip in the chopped apples and mix together. Cook for 5 minutes. This will give you a lovely caramel-style sauce for your apples.

7. Sprinkle the oaty mixture on top of the apples and cook over the indirect side of the BBQ for 30 minutes until it has taken on a bit of colour, turning throughout the cook. Serve warm with custard, cream, ice cream – or all three.