A fruit crumble is easy to make and requires these three things: a greased pan that’s just the right amount deep, a fruit filling and a crumbled topping.
Wash, prep and coarsely chop fruit of your choice, combine with berries, flavour, toss directly into a greased baking dish and scatter the crumble on top.
You can choose any fruit or combination of fruit and berries from any season. It’s fun to experiment but you may have to adjust the recipe accordingly. My favourite as of late is apple, strawberry and cherry. You don’t have to use fresh berries either. Frozen works perfectly well.
Another great pairing is apple and peach. To try this combination, in the recipe below, substitute the cherries and strawberries for 4 peaches and only one tablespoon of tapioca.
I add tapioca to help thicken the filling, especially if I’m using frozen berries.
When baking, make sure the filling is visibly bubbling before pulling it out of the oven. This will ensure the thickener has been fully activated. If concerned about bubbling over in the oven, place your dish on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.
Please note, this recipe doesn’t call for sweetener in the fruit filling but you might reconsider and add a little depending on what fruit you use. For example, if you use rhubarb you will want to add a little extra.
Fruit and berry crumble, vegan and gluten-free
For the filling:
1 cup frozen cherries
2 cups frozen strawberries
3 large or 5 medium size apples.
1/2 lemon, zest and juice
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp freshly ground nutmeg
1 -2 tbsp tapioca (optional)
For the topping:
2 cups large rolled oats
1/2 cup almond flour
1/4 cup honey or sweetener of your choice
1/2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts
3/4 cup coconut oil or olive oil (I use a combination of both)
1/2 tsp salt
Preheat the oven to 350 F
Lightly grease an approximately 9“ x 7” baking dish.
Peel, core and chop fruit into chunky pieces.
Place fruit and berries in baking dish and sprinkle with cinnamon and freshly ground nutmeg.
Add the lemon zest, juice and tapioca. Lightly toss and allow sit for at least 10 minutes while you make the topping.
In a large bowl place almond flour, rolled oats, walnuts, sweetener and salt. Mix with a fork to combine.
Add the oil (or butter) and continue to blend.
Sprinkle crumble topping over the fruit. Try to work on a depth half that of the fruit. Too thick and the middle won't cook.
Press the topping down with your hands or the back of a large spoon.
Place in preheated oven and bake for 40-45 minutes or until golden and you can see the fruit bubbling through from underneath.
Remove from the oven and let stand for 5 minutes before serving.
