How To Bake Crumbles With Your Favourite Fruits
Is there anything cosier than a crumble? Tender fruits singing with flavours and crowned by a streusel-like topping with a crisp and buttery crumb. We love baking our fruit crumbles in ramekins, as the individually-sized portions are perfect whether for rustling up on date night or as an impressive dessert when we have guests over!
Ingredients
For The Filling
- 2-3 large pieces of your chosen fruit (if you are baking a berry crumble, about 1 cup of fresh berries should do)
- 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
- 2 – 3 tbsp brown sugar (note that you can adjust the quantity of sugar depending on the sweetness of the fruit; other sugars from caster sugar to healthier coconut sugar, will also work)
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- ¼ tsp cinnamon
For The Crumble
- ⅔ cup all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup jaggery (alternatively, you could use brown sugar, packed ; see recipe notes below)
- ¼ cup butter, softened
- ¼ tsp cinnamon
- pinch of salt
Instructions
- Pre-heat the oven to 180°C
- Make the fruit filling. Peel, pit, dice or slice your fruit as appropriate into bite-sized chunks (taking care to remove seeds or other inedible parts)
- Toss your fruit in a mixing bowl with the brown sugar, flour, cinnamon and vanilla extract, until the fruit pieces are evenly coated. You can always taste-test a small piece and adjust the sweetness as required.
- Prepare the crumble topping. Whisk together the flour, jaggery (or your choice of sugar), cinnamon and a pinch of salt.
- Cut the butter into little pieces and add it to the dry flour mixture, using your fingers to mix until crumbly. (When baking chunkier or juicier fruits such as peaches, I’m careful not to over-mix so that the crumble shapes up in large, heavier clusters to add a complementary texture).
- Prepare the ramekins. Distribute the fruit filling between the ramekins, spreading a layer of crumble evenly over the fruit.
- Bake the crumble for anywhere between 20-30 minutes, until it has a firm golden-brown top and you can see the fruit filling bubbling around the edges. Transfer the ramekins to a wire rack and let them cool before serving/ tucking in!
Notes
- Fruit filling: You can always add more fruit if you prefer your crumble to be more fruity than crumbly.
- Crumble topping: In its classic form, crumble topping is essentially a combination of sugar, flour and butter. You can always experiment with your choice of sugar; I love using jaggery for its caramel-like quality, not to mention that it’s also relatively healthier.