It was pear season and so I decided to make a dessert with it. It’s also my first time baking a crumble and I’m glad I did because it turned out so good. To me, crumbles are both rustic and comforting, it’s hard to go wrong with it.
Crumbles can be made with many types of fruit so I guess you can make your own adaptation to this recipe if pear isn’t your top choice. I used the Green Anjou variety which can be identified by its egg-like shape. It has a very smooth, juicy and mushy texture which makes it great for baking, poaching and roasting! I also added some acidity in the form of lemon juice to cut some of the sweetness. The pears lend a natural mellow sweetness to the buttery and crisp crumble topping. I paired it with ginger and the combination worked perfectly for me.
This was pretty fast to put together. The most time-consuming part was to slice the 7 – 8 pears and of course the baking time. I feel that it tastes even better the next day as the flavour of the pears becomes more enhanced. The serving size makes it good for a party too, pearfect for the holiday season!
Recipe for Pear & Ginger Crumble (makes a 8x 10″ baking dish)
Crumble topping:
1 cup flour
1 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup rolled oats
165g cold butter
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp all-spice
pinch of salt
Filling:
3 pounds firm but ripe pears, peeled, cored and cut into 1/4-inch slices
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
2 tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
Steps:
For the topping:
Preheat your oven to 180 degrees C.
Combine the dry ingredients in a medium bowl. Add in the cubed butter and work together with a fork or your fingertips (quickly) until you get a breadcrumb consistency with small beads of butter. Set aside and prepare the filling.
For the filling:
Combine the pears slices, lemon juice, and ginger in a large bowl. Add the sugar and flour and toss to combine.
Assembling:
Grease the baking tray. Transfer the pear mixture to the dish. Sprinkle the topping over the pears. Bake crumble until the pears are tender and the topping is golden brown, about 40 minutes. Let cool before serving.
Serve it with scoops of your favourite ice cream or have it warmed up and on its own. Enjoy!
