It’s been a really cold start to winter here in the ‘Berra. Sit on the couch with socks on kind of weather. Crack open a bottle of red between just two people kind of weather. Today was a high of 10 and a low of 2. Winter is well and truly here and nothing really gets rid of the winter chill like a great dessert. And I’ve really been trying to be good lately, more conscious of what I eat – it’s not a weight loss thing, but Kira (another MasterChef contestant) has inspired me to eat better. I can’t say that I’m much good at it, but I’m going to try.
And one of the things that I’ve learnt from her is that berries are antioxidant rich. And to eat the rainbow, so not just greens, but to across the spectrum of beautiful colours that nature provides. Apples are well and truly in season now, so I’ve combined them with the bright jewel-like colours of rhubarb and mixed berries, really cut back on the sugar plus added healthy stuff like oats and coconut. So it’s almost a guilt-free dessert better for you than chocolate fondant.
I serve it with creme anglaise, which is kind of cheating, but I figure that I did really cut down on the sugar in the actual crumble, so it’s probably okay. Plus anglaise is mostly just eggs and milk. (I’m sorry Kira!)
- 3 apples, peeled and cut into 2cm dice
- 3 stalks rhubarb, stems only finely sliced
- 1 cup frozen mixed berries
- 40g sugar
- 200g flour
- 80g brown sugar
- 130g butter
- 50g rolled oats
- 30g shredded coconut
- pinch of salt
- Preheat oven to 180C.
- Combine the diced apples, sliced rhubarb and frozen berries in a 20 x 30cm ceramic tray, and quickly toss through the 40g sugar
- In a food processor, combine the flour, brown sugar and butter and pulse until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Add the rolled oats, coconut and a pinch of salt, then pulse a few more times to combine. Taste the crumble and add more sugar if necessary.
- Place the crumble mixture on top of the fruit and bake for 35 mins or until golden brown.
what red are you drinking with the crumble?
Mornington Pinot 🙂
Looks amazing!! Never tried rhubarb before 🙂
I used to hate rhubarb, but it’s actually really nice against the sweetness of apple. Well worth trying 🙂
It so reminds me of my childhood in England. We used to go berry picking in the hedgerows in the countryside; blackberries and raspberries mainly. It was a real family event – all of us went. We would come home with buckets of them, and my mother would make raspberry jam and berry and apple pie. The rhubarb would come from our garden. My favorite was rhubarb and apple pie. I always loved the tartness of the rhubarb. Did you ever try gooseberries?
I love England – I used to visit my cousins in England and they had the most amazing wild raspberries and blackberries growing. And I really liked having a milkman! We’re just about to head back for a visit actually. Not sure if I’ve had gooseberries…
Nice recipe, but no rhubarb in Townsville, suggestions please Tash.
I’d probably just omit it – lots of flavour from the berries in there already.
Hey Tash, looks amazing. My partner loves crumble but doesn’t like coconut. What can I replace it with?
I’d just omit it to be honest 🙂