Gluten-free blackberry crumble with dairy-free custard

Plump and tasty blackberries are there for the taking this time of year; try them in this crumble recipe that's free of soya, gluten and dairy

• Susanna Booth
• The Guardian, Saturday 5 October 2013

Apple and blackberry crumble, with no soya, gluten or dairy. Photograph: Jill Mead for the Guardian

Wild blackberries are especially bounteous this year and it's not hard to find a public patch where they can be picked for free, even in the most urban of areas (though choose plants away from roads and avoid low-hanging fruit). They taste great in this crumble with a dairy-free and soya-free custard flavoured with real vanilla.

Serves 4-6
For the crumble
400g blackberries
400g dessert apples, peeled, cored and finely sliced
2-3 tbsp dark muscovado sugar
75g plain gluten-free flour blend
25g demerara sugar
25g dairy-free margarine
25g hazelnuts
15g pumpkin seeds
1 tbsp runny honey or maple syrup

For the custard
510ml dairy-free coconut milk drink
1 tsp vanilla extract 
3 tbsp cornflour
2 tbsp demerara sugar
¼ tsp natural yellow food colouring (optional)

1 Preheat the oven to 170C/350F/gas mark 3-4. Pick over the blackberries and remove stalks. Place the apples in a saucepan with the muscovado sugar and 1 tbsp of the blackberries. Cook on a medium heat until the apples become soft. Add the rest of the blackberries.

2 Place the flour, demerara sugar and margarine in a bowl, and rub into crumbs using your fingertips. Roughly chop the nuts and seeds. Place in another bowl with the honey and stir. Add to the flour mix and then mix everything together.

3 Spoon the fruit evenly into a 25cm pie dish. Sprinkle the topping across the fruit. Bake in the oven for 20–25 minutes until crisp and brown.

4 To make the custard, gently heat 500ml of the coconut drink with the vanilla extract in a pan. In a cup, stir together the cornflour, sugar and yellow food colouring, then pour in the remaining coconut drink until you have a lump-free paste. Turn the heat up under the pan and stir continuously while you pour in the cornflour mix. Keep stirring until it thickens. Remove from the heat and serve.