Lyndey Milan's gluten-free crumble with pickled apple and date

Method

1. Make the pickle the day before the crumble: combine vinegar, water, sugar, salt and spices in a small saucepan over medium heat and stir until sugar is completely dissolved. Reduce heat to very low and simmer gently for 10 minutes to infuse flavours. Strain over sliced apples in a glass bowl and weigh down to submerge. Refrigerate overnight.
2. Pre-heat oven to 180ºC. Place strained pickled apples over the base of a greased 6 cup (1.5 litre) baking dish or 4 individual ramekins.
3. For the crumble: Place coconut, hazelnuts, sugar and cardamom in a food processor. Pulse until hazelnuts are still slightly chunky. With the motor running add butter. Process until the butter is rubbed in and distributed through the mixture. Some of the pieces of butter will be pea-sized, while some will be absorbed into the crumble. This can also be done using the tips of the fingers.
4. Top apple mixture with crumble then place in oven and bake for 10–15 minutes or until golden. Serve immediately

Lyndey's note: If you are short of time, replace the crumble mixture with 240g crushed Anzac biscuits and bake for 7 mins. The apple pickle is also delicious served with pork, chicken or cheese.