Page loading ... Please wait.
Baking & Dessert Recipes & Pictures

home recipe index new recipes cake recipes cookie recipes muffin recipes scone recipes pies & tarts
breakfast & brunch bars & squares biscotti recipes shortbread recipes comfort foods healthy baking
about us
thanksgiving baking
substitutions
ingredients
glossary
conversions
christmas baking
christmas cookies
christmas candy
english tea party
quick breads
chocolate recipes
pumpkin recipes
apple recipes
cranberry recipes
blueberry recipes
lemon recipes
strawberry recipes
trifle recipes
ice cream recipes
pudding recipes
easter baking
valentine's baking
halloween baking
baking history
bibliography

Cranberry Pear and Apple Crumble Recipe

Printer Friendly Page

Cranberry Pear & Apple Crumble Recipe

A crumble belongs to the group of simple baked desserts that combine fresh fruit with a topping.   What is unique about a crumble is that it has no bottom crust and instead of a pastry topping, it uses a streusel-like mixture. The Crumble's topping differs from a Crisp's in that it is left in fairly large pieces, not processed until finely ground. It is very simple to make and once it is placed over the fruit it is baked in the oven until the butter melts and the ingredients form large clumps. 

The topping will turn a beautiful golden brown color and the texture will be crisp and crumbly, hence the name. Crumbles and Crisps are especially popular during the Fall and Winter months. The combination of sweet pears, tart cranberries and crisp apples, along with the streusel are delicious, especially when served warm from the oven with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

This crumble's topping contains old fashioned rolled oats. Oats are a cereal grain that is rich and flavorful and comes in many forms. Very popular in Northern Europe, Scotland and Ireland. Oats to be consumed by humans are cleaned, toasted, hulled to  become what we call oat groats. The oat groats are then steamed and flattened to become rolled oats or old-fashioned oats. Old-fashioned rolled oats are not to be confused with quick-cooking rolled oats. These are oats have been cut into pieces before being steamed and rolled into thinner flakes. They cook quickly, about 5 minutes, but their flavor and texture are a little different than old-fashioned rolled oats. I do not recommend using the quick-cooking rolled oats in this recipe.
 

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) and place rack in the center of the oven.  Butter or spray with a nonstick cooking spray, a 2 1/2 quart casserole or oval gratin dish, or a 10 inch (25 cm) deep dish pie plate.  Set aside.

For Crumble Topping:  Combine the flour, sugar, ground cinnamon, salt, oats and nuts in a large bowl. Cut the butter into small pieces and blend into the flour mixture with a pastry blender or two knives. The mixture should be crumbled to about the size of peas.  Set aside while you prepare the filling.

For Filling:  In a large bowl combine the sugar and cornstarch (corn flour).  Peel, core, and slice the apples and pears and toss them, along with the cranberries, in the sugar mixture.  Once thoroughly combined transfer to the prepared baking dish  Spread the topping evenly over the fruit.

Bake for approximately 35-45 minutes or until bubbly and the topping is golden brown and crisp.  Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool for at least 15 minutes before serving.  Serve with softly whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.  Refrigerate leftovers and reheat before serving.

Makes about 6 servings.

Sources:

Daley, Regan. 'In the Sweet Kitchen'. Random House Canada: 2000.

Davidson, Alan. 'The Oxford Companion to Food'. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999.

Sax, Richard. 'Classic Home Desserts'. Houghton Mifflin Company. New York:1994.

Crumble Topping:

3/4 cup (105 grams) all purpose flour

3/4 cup (155 grams) light brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup (70 grams) old-fashioned rolled oats

1/3 cup (40 grams) chopped walnuts or pecans

1/2 cup (113 grams) unsalted butter, cut into pieces

Filling:

2 - 4 tablespoons (30 - 55 grams) light brown sugar (depending on how sour the apples)

1/2 tablespoon cornstarch (corn flour)

1 1/2 pounds (680 grams) Granny Smith Apples or other firm, tart-tasting apple - peeled, cored, and sliced into 1 inch (2.5 cm) chunks

1 1/2 pounds (680 grams) ripe Bartlett or Anjou Pears, peeled, cored and cut into 1 inch (2.5 cm) chunks

1 cup (100 grams) dried or fresh cranberries, rinsed, drained, and picked over

 
   

Bookmark and Share

Join Our New & Featured Recipes Email List

New Recipes

 
   
 

 
 

Top 40 Recipes of the Last Year*

*Top 40 Recipes based on actual site traffic from October 1, 2008  to September 30, 2009.

  

Contact Us   Privacy Policy Follow Joyofbaking On Twitter

Arabic Mandarin Dutch French German Hindi Indonesian Italian Japanese Korean Norwegian Portuguese Russian Spanish Greek Swedish Finnish

Use of materials on Joyofbaking.com is entirely at the risk of the user and Joyofbaking.com, Stephanie Jaworski or Rick Jaworski will not be responsible for any damages directly or indirectly resulting from the use.

This website and the contents are not endorsed or sponsored by the owner of the "Joy of Cooking" series of books or its publisher Simon & Schuster, Inc.

Content in any form may not be copied or used without written permission of Stephanie Jaworski, Joyofbaking.com.  Students and non profit educators may use content without permission with proper credit. 

A baking resource on the Internet since 1997

Copyright  1997 to 2009 Stephanie & Rick Jaworski