Comforting Classic Apple Crumble vs Traditional Dorset Apple Cake

Both desserts pair cooking apples with cinnamon, sugar, butter and lemon, yet they build very different textures. The crumble keeps its sliced apples as a soft, juicy layer brightened with lemon juice and warmed by nutmeg, beneath a golden, crumbly topping of butter rubbed into flour with oats and sugar. The Dorset apple cake instead folds diced apple and lemon zest into a creamed butter-and-egg batter, baking into a springy, golden cake finished with a crunchy demerara crust. One is spooned out warm with double cream; the other is served warm or at room temperature.