Seasonal, healthy, easy to make, comforting, and delicious. Yep, this recipe is all of those things, and it’s been a staple in my kitchen for weekend desserts for the past month.
When it comes to crumbles, everyone’s got their preferred filling and favourite way to make it, which makes the humble crumble such a personal, versatile and homely dessert to bake. With minimal ingredients and minimal fuss, this is something you can make and bake whilst you’re preparing dinner, or even in the morning, to fill the house with comforting scents of warm fruit.
With less sugar, a purely healthy filling, good-for-you fats and a very simple oat topping, this would – and has been several times in our house – perfectly suitable for breakfast too!
Ingredients
(serves 4-6)
- 2 cups oats
- 3 apples
- 1 pear
- 2 small plums
- 1 handful blackberries
- ¼ cup coconut oil, olive oil or butter
- ½ cup coconut sugar or preferred sweetener (try not to bake with honey, as it loses a huge amount of its nutritional value when heated, and is thought to release toxins)
- ½ tsp good quality salt
- 2 tsp cinnamon
Method
Pre-heat oven to 190C
Slice the apples and pears, and arrange in a flat layer on the bottom of a baking dish (don’t use all of them here, as we’ll alternate the fruits in each layer)
Layer with sliced plums
Continue alternating between layers of apples, pears and plums
Once layered, sprinkle over a small amount of your sweetener and cinnamon
Top with blackberries
In a bowl, mix together your oats, salt, the rest of the sweetener, cinnamon and oil (melt the coconut oil a little first to make it easier to mix)
Spoon the topping mixture over the layers of fruit, and pat down to make it compact
If you have any left, sprinkle over a little more cinnamon, and topping with a small amount of oil can give the top a more crispy texture
Bake in the oven for 30-45 minutes. Keep an eye on it, but you can leave this for up to an hour and it’s still likely to be absolutely fine.
Serve warm straight away with a dollop of home make yoghurt or ice cream, and save the rest for breakfast!
Optional additions:
I often bake for myself and a certain someone who likes dates, and ‘a bit of crunch’ with a dessert – if you’re that kind of person, consider adding the following.
- Chop dates and add to the filling for toffee-like bites
- Add nuts to the oat topping for more crunch
- Experiment with different fruits, like bananas and strawberries for a Summer-inspired crumble, or grated carrots (that one didn’t go down too well, but I liked it….)
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