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Healing with the Heelers

“I had someone who works in foster care say, ‘This show is probably the only example that some kids have of a functioning family,’” says Melanie Zanetti, better known as the voice of Bluey’s mum Chilli on what is arguably Australia’s most successful TV show.

With the Heeler family set to unleash their biggest episode yet, we had a chinwag with Zanetti, plus Bluey’s executive producer Daley Pearson, about their favourite episodes, the healing power of play, and the little dog’s quest to take over the world from Brisbane, one heart at a time.

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Apple Crumble Mug Cake

This recipe brings back so many fond memories. It has all the flavours of a warm, classic apple crumble, but with much less effort.

When I was little, I absolutely loved food, especially sweet food and desserts. I still do. I get it from my mum, who would happily miss out on the main course and go straight to dessert.

We were a busy family, with my sister and I doing gymnastics most evenings. We didn’t always get the chance to sit down and eat dinner together, but when we did there always had to be dessert.

On cold Sundays, Mum and I would usually make something like roast chicken with roasted vegies, roast potatoes and gravy or beef stew with dumplings, which was one of my favourites. I always enjoyed chopping up the leeks and root vegetables, except for the swede… I hated chopping up swede. My knife skills weren’t the best and there was always the risk of losing a finger or the swede flying off the counter and across the room.

After dinner was cooking, it was time to make the dessert, which on many occasions was a large dish of fruit crumble, apple a firm favourite. Occasionally, we’d switch it up with plum, but no matter how hard we tried there was always a stray stone in the cooked fruit. We would give a hazard warning before diving in. It’s a good job plum stones are big.

I loved slicing the apples, eating the apple peel and making the crumble topping with my hands. There’s nothing like getting a bit messy while baking: it’s part of the experience. Even though I wasn’t the one having to clear it up afterwards (sorry Mum).

For me, warm apple crumble is such a comforting dessert. Dad and I always enjoyed it with cold custard. Mum opted for something like clotted cream.

This recipe brings back so many fond memories. It has all the flavours of a warm, classic apple crumble, but with much less effort. It’s made just for two and with only five ingredients. Easy as pie – or crumble, I should say! It’s perfect if you don’t have a lot of mouths to feed but still want to enjoy a delicious, comforting apple crumble at home.

Baking It Easy by Eloise Head is out now.

Apple Crumble Mug Cake

Ingredients

Serves 2

For the filling
15g (1 tablespoon) sugar
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 large apple, peeled, cored and cubed

For the topping
40g (4¾ tablespoon) plain flour
40g (3 tablespoons) sugar
40g (3 tablespoons) unsalted butter, cold and cubed

Method

Preheat the oven to 180°C (160°C fan).

Mix together the sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl or mug until combined, then add the chopped apple and toss until coated in the mixture.

In another small bowl or mug, mix together the flour, sugar and cold butter until combined. I prefer to do this with my fingertips until it becomes crumbly.

Scoop the apple mixture into 2 separate ramekins or ovenproof mugs, then evenly crumble over the topping.

Bake for 25 minutes until the tops are golden brown and the apples are soft.

Serve warm with cream or ice cream. Yum!