BERRY & PRALINE CRUMBLE POTS

MAKES 8

Crumbles are so easy to make and are a terrific, quick way to use up a glut of seasonal fruit or stashed frozen fruit from the freezer. As each new winter rolls around I try to come up with a slight twist on the regular crumble topping. This recipe has a rather ritzy pecan-praline crumble with salty caramel and nut tones, which goes well with any type of fruit.

INGREDIENTS

1 cup frozen blueberries 2 cups frozen mixed berries 2 apples, peeled and sliced

2/3 cup sugar

PRALINE CRUMBLE

½ cup caster sugar

2 Tbsp water

¾ cup pecan nuts, gently toasted 1 tsp sea salt ⅓ cup plain flour

¼ tsp ground nutmeg ½ tsp cinnamon

3 Tbsp raw sugar

50g chilled butter, cubed

1 Make praline first. Line a baking tray with baking paper. Add caster sugar and water to a small saucepan and cook on medium heat for 5-10 minutes until sugar dissolves. Do not stir at any stage; just swirl gently from time to time until molten sugar turns golden brown.

2 Once liquid sugar has turned golden and is bubbling, add toasted pecans. Quickly pour mixture onto lined tray (take care as sugar is very hot) and spread out using a spatula. Quickly sprinkle with sea salt and chill in the fridge until rock hard. 3 When set hard, break praline in half. Place one half in a processor and grind to fine crumbs. Reserve other piece for serving.

4 Preheat oven to 180°C fanbake. In a bowl mix flour, nutmeg, cinnamon, raw sugar and a pinch of salt. Add butter and rub together with fingers (or pulse in a processor) until mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Stir in praline crumbs.

5 Lightly grease eight 10cm mini casseroles or ovenproof bowls. Mix together berries, apple and sugar then spoon into mini casseroles and top with a sprinkle of praline crumble.

6 Bake for 15 minutes until crumble is golden and the fruit is starting to bubble. Serve with cream or ice cream and a little shard of broken pecan praline on the side.