Pear and Ginger Almond Crumble

Pear and ginger almond crumble is my ideal comfort food. As we prepare to bunker down at home for the next little while, I imagine that there’ll be plenty of time for us all to slow down and cook the dishes that nourish and comfort us. The lemon juice and zest and the grated ginger, combined with the pears, create the most delicious syrup when cooking. I like my crumble with a spoonful of thick, creamy Greek yoghurt, but it’s equally good with vanilla ice-cream or custard. Try making the crumble with different fruits. You can use frozen berries (an excellent staple to have on hand right now), poached rhubarb, or throw in some dried fruits, such as raisins and cranberries. You can also use different nuts in the topping. Hazelnuts and pecans work well.

Serve the crumble in a large pie dish or in individual ramekins. The entire dish can be prepared several hours in advance until you’re ready to cook it. Similarly, you can make the almond crumble topping up to a week in advance and keep it in a jar in the fridge. I often make extra crumble topping to have on hand, and cook it in the oven separately to sprinkle on ice cream. Plus, the whole dish is such a good leftover to munch on the next day! If you love pears as much as I do, you might like to make this cake: https://atamandastable.com.au/spiced-pear-and-almond-cake/

Best wishes,

Amanda
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Print Recipe

Pear and Ginger Almond Crumble

Syrupy pears with lemon and ginger, covered with a spicy almond crumble topping make for the ultimate comfort food.

Course: Dessert

Servings: 6 people

Author: Amanda Lawson

Ingredients

• 4 pears, washed, cored and thinly sliced (I used Packam pears)
• 1 lemon, juice and zest
• 1 tbsp ginger, peeled and grated

Amond Crumble Topping

• 1 cup rolled oats
• 1 cup raw almonds, coarsely choppped
• 1/2 cup wholemeal spelt flour
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp mixed spice
• 100 g butter, softened and cut into cubes plus extra to grease the pie dish

To Serve

• natural Greek yoghurt

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 180°C (160°C fan-forced).
• Lightly grease a 1.5 L pie or baking dish or 6 x 1/2 cup indiviudal ramekins.
• Gently toss the pear slices with the lemon zest, juice and ginger, and arrange them on the base of the dish or ramekins.
• Place all the almond topping ingredients in a large mixing bowl and rub in the butter into with your fingers. Or, you can pulse them briefly in a food processor, maintaining a coarse crumble.
• Sprinkle the almond crumble topping over the pears and bake in the oven for 30 to 45 minutes until golden brown on top.
• Rest for 5 to 10 minutes before serving with a dollop of yoghurt.

Notes

Try different fruit combinations: plums with a mixed berry puree, sliced apple and cinnamon, or poached rhubarb.

The entire crumble can be prepared several hours ahead and left covered in the fridge until ready to cook. Simply bring to room temperature one hour before cooking.