GINGER PEAR & BLUEBERRY CRUMBLES, lower sugar & fat, spelt opt; dairy-free option, prep ahead

Sophisticated fruit crumbles with a twist...

Individual Pear, Blueberry & Ginger Crumbles (with one-dish option)

Candied ginger should be used sparingly in baking but a judicious hand turns an everyday treat into something spectacular.

So it is with this gorgeous juicy crunchy healthier crumble of pear, blueberries and ginger.  Luscious autumn pears tinged with bright purple streaks pop with bits of candied ginger - the whole delicately flavoured with ginger syrup. 

The great thing about making your own fruit crumble is that you get to control the amount of sugar and some of the fat that goes into the topping.  67 adds wholemeal flour for fibre; reduces sugar to take account of the natural sweetness of fruit and cuts fat just enough to maintain optimum levels of crunchiness and flavour.

1-dish Plum & Blueberry Crumble 

67 made two versions of this: four individual crumbles and a single dish. (See Tips) The individual crumbles won the 'Wow' test by a whisker but were a bit more of a faff to prepare.  

Both were cooked in an air-fryer - the 67 oven was not available -  but timings are given in the post for a conventional oven.

The recipe was made for a small household but multiples easily.

Cost: £2'ish
Makes: 4 small or one large enough for 2-3 people 

Ingredients:

     110gm/3.8oz plain spelt or wheat flour
     35gm/1.2oz wholemeal spelt or wheat flour

OR 145g/5oz flour of choice
     min 2 - max 4 tbsp brown sugar

     50-60gm/1.7-2.1oz cold unsalted dairy or plant (67 used Tomor) butter, in small cubes 

    generous handful blueberries, picked over to remove squashy ones
    1 globe ginger from syrup, drained & finely diced OR 1/2 tsp grated fresh peeled ginger OR scant tsp ground ginger

    2 good-sized green pears - the long-neck ones  - as ripe as possible

    bowl of cold water with the juice of a quarter lemon added

    1-2 tbsp ginger syrup (OR, if using fresh or dried ginger, honey or maple syrup)

flaked almonds

Method:

1. Make crumble: mix flours and sugars; rub in 2/3 of the butter until the size of peas; add the rest of the butter, rub in but leave some cubes larger than the others for a lovely clumpy topping; set aside
2. Generously butter 4 tart tins or one 6in/15cm dish
3. Layer the blueberries on the bottom; scatter over diced ginger
4. Peel pears; quarter; remove cores; cut into generous bite-size chunks; drop into lemon water and immediately drain
5. Cover blueberries & ginger evenly with pears; pour over ginger syrup (or other chosen syrup); toss lightly
6. Sprinkle over crumble mix
7. Bake until beautifully brown: (i) air fryer - bake setting:  155c/310f for 20 mins; scatter over flaked almonds, turn heat up to 180/350f, bake a further 10 mins  OR (ii) conventional oven - 35-45 mins; 10 mins before end of baking, scatter over scatter over flaked almonds
8. Serve warm; with custard, cream or ice cream if you like

Comments: 
'They were really really lovely!' Handyman
'Really, really delicious.  Pear Crumble is a no-brainer; adding blueberries and candied ginger takes it up several levels.' Journalist


Tips:

• If serving wheat-phobes, bake and serve the fruit & topping separately; the crumble is spread on a baking tray lined with greaseproof paper & baked 15-20 mins; be careful, it burns easily 
• Sugar-phobes can replace the globe ginger and syrup with fresh finely grated peeled ginger; taste after 1/2 tsp - too much won't be a good thing!
• Replace pear with apple, ginger syrup with orange juice & zest and candied ginger with cinnamon

More fruity desserts on NavBar: Recipes 1

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This recipe has  been developed by B M Lee/ Bright Sun Enterprises.  It may not be reproduced without the author's written permission.