It is easy to assume that crumble, the quintessential British dessert, dates back to the Middle Ages.
However, there will be no trace of it in the ancient texts, as it is actually a recent invention.
Indeed, crumbles were invented in London during the Second World War. Women had less time to cook, as they had to do the jobs of the men who had left for the war. Restricted by rationing, they developed an egg-free dessert recipe that used flour, sugar and margarine (although fresh butter is used nowadays) to make a crumbly mixture that they would sprinkle over a fruit base and bake in the oven.
The resulting crumbles were far too tasty to be forgotten once peace was restored.