This past Sunday, my family celebrated my grandmother's birthday at a local family restaurant. We have been going there since I was a little tike and we always get the same waiter. A few weeks ago my grandma asked me to make her birthday dessert and she said she didn't care what it was as long as I did something for her. And, of course, I was soooo happy to do that for her!
I started asking her tons of questions: chocolate? cake? pie? favorite flavor? .... then I asked her if she would like a crumble. She had no idea what I was talking about
(what?).... I knew right then that I was going to do a crumble.
I think that crumbles are one of, if not the most, versatile dessert to make. I love them because they are quick, easy, and delicious every time. They are perfect for any time of the year - all you have to use is the fresh fruit in season and you're golden. I make them at the restaurant a lot because they are the perfect, light dessert at the end of any meal.
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| Peach and Blackberry Crumble with Black Raspberry Ice Cream |
You can substitute any fruit combination that you like and you can add or subtract spices from the crumble topping to complement the fruit. A few crumbles that I have made are the following:
Peach and Blackberry
Peach and Raspberry
Peach
Pear and Ginger (my favorite)
The recipe that I am going to talk about is the crumble from my grandma's birthday:
Pear and Ginger Crumble. Although, I have added the recipe for the
Peach and Blackberry Crumble because the filling ingredients are slightly different.
The fresh ginger in the fruit portion makes the dessert taste warm and spicy and gives off an intoxicating aroma. The wonderful thing about crumbles is that the fruit portion has minimal ingredients - fruit, sugar, and a thickening agent (i use corn starch) - and the topping is super simple to put together with ingredients you always have!
With the peach crumbles that I make, I do not saute the peaches before I bake them. However, I do saute the pears and fresh ginger together to soften the pears and meld the flavors together. I find that sauteing the pears for about 10 minutes softens them enough, yet still holds their structure after baking so they are not mushy. Another thing, I
LOVE brown sugar, so I use brown sugar with just a pinch of granulated sugar to draw out the juices before I begin sauteing. I use a lot of fresh ginger (about 2 tablespoons finely chopped) with the pears - for the warmth - but you can add more or less depending on your love of ginger.
The crumble topping is easy - oats, flour, brown sugar, butter, spices, salt. I love to use cinnamon, cloves, and ground ginger. I am not a huge nutmeg person, so I rarely add it.
insert random thought here: I consider myself a health freak, so I try to use little to no butter. But with crumbles, I have found, you
NEED the butter! It is just a necessity, just like there is no substitution for ganache - you need the heavy cream!
Ok, focus, so the crumble - once finished - is just put on top. DO NOT be tempted to pack it down onto the fruit!! The smell in my kitchen on Sunday was
amazing and reminded me of Christmas (my favorite time of year). The crumble is best served warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream!
At the restaurant, I use individual ramekins for the crumbles, but at home I use one big ceramic baking dish. The amount of fruit varies depending on the size of the fruit you are using. You want the fruit to fill up to the top of the dish you are using (and mound the crumble on top) because it will shrink as it bakes.
Enjoy the recipe and mess around with different fruit and spices and let me know how the turn out!
*Note:
There will probably be crumble topping left over.
You can store it in an air tight container in the fridge for weeks.
When you want to use it again, let it sit at room temperature for a few minutes.
Pear and Ginger Crumble
Crust Ingredients
1 cup, scant, AP flour
2- 2 ½ cups oats
1 ½ cups light brown sugar
1-2 tbsp cinnamon
2 tsp ground ginger (or to taste)
Pinch of cloves
2 sticks butter, cold and cut into small chunks
Filling ingredients
Several small pears or roughly 8 large pears – peeled, cored, and thinly sliced
Large ginger bulb – peeled and finely chopped or minced (roughly 2 heaping Tbsp chopped)
Roughly ¼ cup light brown sugar
Few pinches of ground ginger and salt
2 tbsp cornstarch
Filling Preparation
Preheat oven to 350*F. Peel, core and thinly slice the pears (can keep in lemon water while slicing them). Toss the pears and brown sugar in a bowl, set aside. Thinly chop and mince the ginger bulb. In a large saucepan, heat a tbsp of butter and sauté the ginger for few minutes on medium. Then add the pears and sauté until the pears have released enough juice into the pan and they are beginning to soften (about 10 minutes). Then add some salt and ground ginger.
In a small bowl, combine the cornstarch and a few spoonfuls of the pear juice from the pan until the cornstarch is dissolved. Add the mixture to the pan and let simmer for a few minutes until the sauce thickens slightly. Turn of the heat, set aside, and prepare the crust.
Crust Preparation
In a large bowl, combine the flour, oats, brown sugar, and spices. Cut the butter into small chunks and combine in the mixture until incorporated with small chunks of butter.
Or add the dry ingredients into a stand mixer and then add the butter until incorporated.
With a slotted spoon, portion the pears into the individual ramekins and pour the sauce equally into the ramekins. Or pour the entire mixture into a big baking pan. Then top the filling with the crust – DO NOT press the crust down. Place in the oven for 30-35 minutes or until the crust is golden brown and the filling is bubbling. Remove from oven and serve warm with vanilla ice cream.
Peach and Blackberry Crumble
Crust Ingredients
1 cup, scant, AP flour
2- 2 ½ cups oats
1 ½ cups light brown sugar
1-2 tbsp cinnamon
2 tsp ground ginger (or to taste)
Pinch of cloves
2 sticks butter, cold and cut into small chunks
Filling Ingredients
Several large peaches (roughly 8) – peeled and thinly sliced
1-2 pints blackberries
¼ cup granulated sugar
¼ cup light brown sugar
Shot glass of Gran Gala (orange liqueur)
2 tbsp cornstarch
Filling Preparation
Preheat oven to 350*F. Prepare the peaches in a large bowl and combine with the sugars and let set for 10-15 minutes to let the juices come out. While waiting, prepare the crust. Then add the Gran Gala and the blackberries to the peaches. Toss in the cornstarch.
Crust Preparation
In a large bowl, combine the flour, oats, brown sugar, and spices. Cut the butter into small chunks and combine in the mixture until incorporated with small chunks of butter.
Or add the dry ingredients into a stand mixer and then add the butter until incorporated.
With a slotted spoon, portion the peaches into the individual ramekins and pour the remaining sauce equally into the ramekins. Or pour the entire mixture into a big baking pan. Then top the filling with the crust – DO NOT press the crust down. Place in the oven for 30-35 minutes or until the crust is golden brown and the filling is bubbling. Remove from oven and serve warm with vanilla ice cream.
