“This is actually my mother’s recipe,” Julia Busuttil Nishimura explains as she’s setting up her family kitchen for a cooking session with her son Haruki. Fittingly, the cookbook author and her young family have invited us into their Melbourne home to share a special recipe for Mother's Day.
“Mother’s Day is really important in our family, it brings together many generations of mothers,” Julia continues. “It’s such a lovely opportunity to cook something really special, and to sit around the table and share it together.”
When it comes to something special to share with family, it’s hard to go past Julia’s Apple and Blackberry Crumble. True to Julia’s cooking style, where fresh, seasonal produce is honoured simply and with great care, the family recipe radiates the warmth of a lovingly home cooked meal. And the ease of the recipe means there’s plenty of opportunity to involve the little ones.
The inspiration to share this recipe came after the family’s picturesque drive to Sanders Apples in the Yarra Valley, where rows of beautiful fruit trees were waiting to be picked. “Fruit picking is one of my favourite things that I remember from being a kid, and Haruki loves it too now,” says Julia. With apples in season it was the perfect way to spend a crisp Autumn morning before heading home to whip up a simple and delicious dessert.
In the video below Julia is joined by her enthusiastic helper Haruki as they talk us through her crumble recipe to celebrate Mother’s Day. And below you’ll find the full recipe so that you can try it for yourself (with or without the little helping hands).