Finishing your day with something warming and nourishing can bring pleasure and comfort, especially during the difficult days of the pandemic.
Spending half an hour or so putting this seasonal fruit crumble together is a gentle act of kindness towards yourself or others
Ingredients
For the topping
• 140g light muscovado sugar
• 120g spelt flour
• 100g jumbo oats
• 50g desiccated coconut
• 50g pumpkin seeds
• 50g buckwheat groats
• 40g flaked almonds
• 40g hazelnuts, blanched and skins removed
• ½ tsp ground cardamom
• Pinch of salt
• 150g butter, melted
For the filling
• 700g mixed seasonal fruit (such as peaches and raspberries, cherries, plums, pears and blackberries, apples, rhubarb)
• 50g golden caster sugar
• Knob of butter
Method
For the topping:
1 Combine all of the dry ingredients in a bowl and then pour over the melted butter. Mix thoroughly with a spoon until a crumble consistency forms. If you want to cook it separately to keep in a jar and use as a quick topping for poached fruits, yoghurt or ice cream, preheat the oven to 180°c fan.
2 Spread the crumble mixture out in an even layer on a baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes. Alternatively, keep the raw crumble mixture in a tupperware in the fridge until you plan on using it; it will keep for a few days.
3 This topping is comforting and buttery, as every crumble should be, but it’s also nourishing and packed full of goodness in the form of oats, nuts and seeds.
4 This is not your average crumble topping; it’s full of texture and is almost like a cross between a granola and a crumble. In fact, it works really well as a lovely topping for yoghurt and fruit in the morning.
The fantastic thing about this is that you can vary the ingredients throughout the year, according to what you’ve got in and what’s in season and at its best. You can also get ahead by making the crumble topping and keeping it in the fridge, or bake it and use it as and when.
For the filling
1 Prepare your chosen fruit; core and chop apples and pears, de-stone peaches, cherries and plums. Grease a pie dish with butter and fill it with your prepared fruit.
2 Toss in the sugar and butter and mix everything well. Spoon over a tablespoon of water and cover with the crumble topping.
3 Bake at 180°c fan for 20 to 30 minutes, until the topping is crisp and golden and the filling is bubbling up the sides. Serve with cream or ice cream, always.
Recipe courtesy of Rosie Birkett, extracted from Beder’s Kitchen (Meze Publishing November 2020). A collection of recipes and reflections from foodies around the world, Beder’s Kitchen also acts as an initiative to raise awareness around mental health and suicide prevention, launched by the young charity, Beder.
RRP £22, available via Amazon, bookshops including Waterstones and online from www.beder.org.uk and www.mezepublishing.co.uk.
