Get ready to crumble

A CRUMBLE is a pie without the fuss of a crust.

This humble cousin of uppercrust pies and tarts melds fruit and a few pantry staples into a sweet and tart old-fashioned dessert that’s hard to resist.

All those hot fruit juices bubble up into the buttery, sugary topping as it bakes to create mouthwatering flavours. Crumbles are so easy to assemble. Mix fruit, sugar, lemon juice and tapioca and pour into a deep baking dish.

Sprinkle on a crumbly topping to create a one-of-a-kind dessert.

Change up the fruit, using whatever is on hand.

Mix in apricot or pineapple juice to lighten up an otherwise heavy filling.

A mix of fresh and canned cherries produces excellent results.

Firm pears are an unexpected surprise.

Add a few tablespoons of apricot jam to deepen their flavour.

Dessert doesn’t get much easier or more flexible

Use whatever thickener you have on hand – flour will do in a pinch.

Even better is arrowroot, cornflour or quick-cooking tapioca.

Add a dash of spice to the filling. Or don’t. This rustic dessert takes kindly to improvisation.

If at first bite it’s a little too tart, make room for ice cream. Change up the topping. Try rolled oats or ground nuts; just butter, sugar and flour work great; and finely chopped nuts in a butter-flour-sugar topping are wonderful because they toast during baking and provide flavour and texture.

Resist the urge to eat it hot out of the oven.

The juices and set.

need

to

thicken Use this peach recipe as a starting point for the fruit filling in crumbles. Just adjust the sugar to suit the sweetness of the fruit.