This pear crumble with the classic Fall flavors of cinnamon and vanilla is perfect winter comfort food. Serve with custard or ice cream for an epic cozy night in!
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Crumbles or crisps are one of my favorite cozy desserts. They are simple to make, incredibly versatile and absolutely delicious. In fact you can find a range of fabulous crumbles on my blog, including crown pleasing apple crumble, rhubarb crumble, apple and plum crumble, feijoa crumble, and a vegan apple crumble for my plant based friends.
So when the shelves were groaning with beautiful pears this Fall I just had to turn them into a pear crisp. Pears are naturally sweet, so there's not a lot of extra sugar needed in this recipe. But because the pears can release a lot of water its best to pre bake the pears before adding the crumble topping. This will ensure your pear crisp stays crispy instead of soggy!
Can you use unripe pears in a crumble?
Yes you can. You will need to cook the pears for longer and may need to add some extra sugar to make up for the lack of natural sugars in the pears. Otherwise a fruit crumble or crisp is a great way to use unripe pears.
How do you fix runny crumble?
How to fix a runny crumble depends on what stage of cooking you are at.
If you have Not added your crumble topping yet,
- Remove the crumble from the oven. Scoop out a couple of spoons of juice and pop into the fridge to cool. Once cool mix in half a table spoon of corn flour to the juice to form a slurry, then mix into the fruit. If you add the corn flour directly to the hot fruit it will go lumpy. Turn the oven down as low as you can and bake for a further fifteen minutes or until some of the water has evaporated and the juices have thickened.
If you Already added your crumble topping
Turn the oven down as low as you can and bake for a further fifteen minutes or until some of the water has evaporated and the juices have thickened. You could try the above method by remove the topping and mixing in corn flour, but this is likely to be messy. It will still likely be delicious so enjoy your crumble and remember to gently cook down your fruit next time.
Ingredients
Pears: The beauty of this recipe is it works no matter how ripe your pears are. If you have crunchy pears you can cook them a little longer to soften them up but its also great for using up really ripe pears that are on their last legs and are just about to become over ripe.
Cinnamon: some ground cinnamon goes perfectly with these pears. You could mix things up by adding some other warming spices, such as cloves, ginger or nutmeg.
Vanilla extract: sometimes also called vanilla essence, depending on where you live. You can use either, or imitation vanilla essence, depending on your preference and budget.
Brown sugar: also known as light brown sugar, adds to the caramel notes of this recipe. You could use white sugar if you prefer, or experiment with dark brown sugar.
Oats: rolled oats are best for this recipe. They roast up beautifully. You could try using steel cut or quick oats, however I haven't tested the recipe with these varieties.
Butter: the butter mixes in with the crumble topping to help giving it that lovely crunchy topping. For a dairy free option you could swap the butter with margarine.
Corn flour: also known as corn starch or maize starch. It provides a natural thickness this fruit crumble. You could try replacing the corn starch with tapioca or arrow root starch.
How to make pear crumble
Pre-heat your oven to 375°F (190°C/170°C fan forced).
Peel and core the pears and cut into chunks. Add the pear chunks to a baking dish with the cinnamon and vanilla extract. Stir well. Add the corn flour and stir well. Bake the pears in the oven for thirty minutes or until starting to soften and the juices have started to bake off and concentrate.
Just before the pears have finished baking make the crumble topping. Add the rolled oats, almond meal and brown sugar to a bowl and mix well, ensuring you get all the lumps out of the almond meal and brown sugar. Melt the butter in a microwave and add it to the crumble topping. Mix well.
Remove the pears from the oven and give them a good stir. Add the crumble topping, leaving plenty of lumpy bits to get nice and crispy. Bake for twenty five minutes or until golden brown.
How to serve
This baked fruit crumble is best served warm from the oven. Fabulous on its own, or with some of my sour cream ice cream, vanilla ice cream or my vegan custard (that does Not taste like vegan custard, even my husband couldn't tell the difference!)
How to store
This crumble is best eaten fresh from the oven. It will keep covered in the fridge for up to three days but the topping may start to go a little soggy over time.
I do not recommend freezing this crumble as I find the topping can go soggy when reheating.
Have you made this recipe? Tell me how it went in the comments below and tag me on instagram so I can see your delicious creations! @keep_calm_and_eat_icecream
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📋 Recipe
Pear crumble
Equipment
- Baking dish
Ingredients
Pear filling
- 1.1 lbs (1kg) or about 10 small pears
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ tablespoon corn flour
Crumble topping
- 1 cup (100gms) rolled oats
- 1 cup (120gms) almond meal
- ⅓ cup (75gms) brown sugar
- ½ cup (1 stick, 115gms) unsalted butter
- 3 tablespoons (15gms) flaked almonds (optional)
Instructions
- Pre-heat your oven to 375°F (190°C/170°C fan forced).
- Peel, core and dice the pears. Add to the baking dish. Add the cinnamon and vanilla and mix well. Add the corn flour and mix well.
- Bake pears in the oven for 30 minutes.
- Melt the butter in a microwave proof bowl. In a separate bowl add the rolled oats, almond meal and brown sugar. Mix well, ensuring all the lumps of brown sugar are well mixed in. Add the melted butter and stir well.
- Stir the softened pears well and add the crumble topping, leaving plenty of lumpy bits to go nice and crispy. Sprinkle with almond flakes if using.
- Bake for twenty five minutes or until crumble topping is golden brown and delicious.
- Remove from the oven and serve with custard or a scoop of vanilla or sour cream ice cream. Delicious!
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