Ingredients

This apple blackberry crumble is made from a simple list of ingredients and you likely have most of them in your pantry!

• butter—use unsalted butter or adjust the salt in the topping
• sugar—any sugar will do, whether light or dark brown sugar or granulated sugar
• flour—bleached all-purpose flour you can also use a mix of all-purpose and buckwheat, or all-purpose and whole wheat
• oats—use rolled oats (or large flake oats). Do not use quick or minute oats which have a finer texture that is less interesting
• salt—I used Diamond Crystal fine kosher salt. If using table salt, add half the amount
• apples—use baking apples that hold their shape like Cortland, Granny Smith, Gala, or Honeycrisp apples, or use a combination with a saucing apple like McIntosh. Do not use saucing apples only for the filling as it will turn to mush and lack texture.
• lemon juice—use fresh or bottled lemon juice. It's optional and used to create an acidic water bath to prevent the peeled apples from browning while you peel and slice them all.
• berries—use fresh blackberries washed, dried, and picked over, but frozen will also work. You don't have to defrost them.
• thickener—use cornstarch, not flour to avoid making the filling cloudy
• vanilla—it's optional but I love to add vanilla bean paste to fruit crisps. You could also use vanilla extract.

Please see the recipe card for the exact ingredients and quantities.

Substitutions and Variations

This is a very simple recipe. Your substitution and variation options are limited.

• sugar—any sugar will do, whether light or dark brown sugar or granulated sugar. Don't use coarse sugar that may be too slow to dissolve, especially in the filling.
• vanilla—it's optional, but I love to add vanilla bean paste to fruit crisps. You could also use vanilla extract.
• spices—while I only used vanilla in the fruit filling and no flavourings in the topping, you can add spices to the oat topping, like cinnamon to add flavour, like ½–1 teaspoon (2.5–5 mL)
• berries—I used fresh wild blackberries which have a great flavour but they are only available in late summer where I live. You could also use frozen berries instead. Don't defrost them.

Don't have blackberries? Try this apple and blueberry crumble!

Instructions

Like all fruit crisps and crumbles, there are two components to prepare to make this apple blackberry crumble: the oat topping and the apple blackberry filling. I like to start by making the topping first to stick it in the fridge to firm up while I make the filling.

Step 1—start by making the oat crumble topping by combining the dry topping ingredients with the sugar (image 1) and whisking them until evenly dispersed (image 2). Then drop the diced butter into the bowl of dry ingredients (image 3) and work the mixture with your fingertips until it resembles wet sand (image 4).

Tip: I like to take the topping a step further, working it into a cookie dough texture that clumps together, but you don't have to.

Step 2—Prepare the apples by peeling them all (image 5) and then coring and slicing them into 1-inch slices (image 6).

Tip: Since there are a lot of apples to peel and slice, have a bowl of lemon water on the side to drop the apples in as you peel them. This will reduce the browning that may happen with certain apple varieties.

Step 3—Prepare the fruit filling by first mixing together the sugar and cornstarch (image 7). Use a whisk or even your fingertips to make sure the mixture has no lumps in it (image 8), then add the sliced apples and blackberries, along with vanilla bean paste (image 9) and use your hands to mix the fruit filling really well, being sure to lift up from the bottom and get all the sugar off the bottom of the bowl (image 10).

Hint: how much thickener you use is entirely dependent on the types of apples, how juicy the berries are, and how thick or thin you want the fruit filling. I created a thick filling with cornstarch and a mixture of apple varieties, but you can use less (or no thickener) for a loose filling.

Step 4: Transfer the fruit filling to a deep 9x13x2-inch (23x33x5-cm) (image 11). I used a metal OXO pan, but a glass Pyrex pan will work too. Scatter the oat crumble topping over the fruit (image 12) making sure that it is spread out in an even layer from edge to edge (image 13). Bake until golden brown and bubbling in the centre (image 14).

Top Baking Tip

Other Apple Desserts

If you tried this recipe for apple blackberry crumble with oats (or any other recipe on my website), please leave a ⭐ star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below. I love hearing from you!

📖 Recipe

Print

Apple and Blackberry Crumble

This delicious apple blackberry crumble is so easy to make from fresh blackberries and sliced apples and topped with a sweet oat crumble.

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Prep Time 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time 1 hour hour

Total Time 1 hour hour 20 minutes minutes

Servings 10

Calories 528kcal

Author Janice Lawandi

Equipment

• 9x13 baking pan
• Sheet pan

Ingredients

Oat crumble topping

• 230 grams unsalted butter cold, cut into cubes
• 200 grams light brown sugar
• 190 grams bleached all-purpose flour you can also use a mix of all-purpose and buckwheat, or all-purpose and whole wheat
• 140 grams rolled oats (or large flake oats)
• 2.5 mL Diamond Crystal fine kosher salt

Apple blackberry filling

• 1.75 kg Cortland apple(s) I used 10 small–medium apples
• 30 mL fresh lemon juice
• 450 grams fresh blackberries washed, dried, and picked over
• 100 grams light brown sugar
• 30 grams cornstarch
• 10 mL vanilla bean paste

Metric - US

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 375°F (190 °C). Butter a large baking dish or casserole dish (I used a 9x13x2-inch baking pan with a non-stick finish, but a Pyrex or ceramic pan would work fine). Set the baking dish on a large, rimmed baking sheet lined with parchment (to catch any drips). Set aside.

Oat crumble topping

• In a large bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, oats, sugar, and salt. Add in the cubes of cold butter and toss it in the dry mixture to coat all the pieces. You can do this with your fingertips. Press and work the butter into the dry ingredients until you have a crumbly topping with lots of texture. Set aside. You can refrigerate the crumble topping if your kitchen is warm.

Apple blackberry filling

• Peel and core the apples, and then slice them into 1-inch slices. Place them in a bowl with the lemon juice and some water to immerse them and prevent the apples from browning while you work. Pat them dry before mixing with the rest of the filling ingredients
• Wash, dry, and pick over the blackberries to remove any stems or twigs. Pat them dry
• Mix the cornstarch and sugar until evenly mixed in a large bowl, being sure to squish any lumps.
• Drain and pat the fruit dry and add to the large bowl of sugar and cornstarch, along with the vanilla bean paste.
• Stir the filling really well to make sure the fruit is evenly coated. Ensure that all the sugar and cornstarch are incorporated throughout the fruit. Pour the fruit evenly into the bottom of the buttered baking dish.
• Scatter globs of the crumble topping over the fruit from edge-to-edge.
• Bake the blackberry apple crumble for 45 minutes, then turn down the temperature to 350 ºF (175 °C). Continue baking until the fruit layer is bubbling, the topping is golden brown. This takes another 20–30 minutes or so.
• Let cool on a wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature with vanilla ice cream or custard sauce.

Notes

•  sugar—any sugar will do, whether light or dark brown sugar or granulated sugar
• vanilla—it's optional but I love to add vanilla bean paste to fruit crisps. You could also use vanilla extract.
• spices—while I only used vanilla in the fruit filling and no flavourings in the topping, you can add spices to the oat topping, like cinnamon to add flavour, like ½–1 teaspoon (2.5–5 mL)
• berries—I used fresh wild blackberries, which have a great flavour but they are only available in late summer where I live. You could also use frozen berries instead. Don't defrost them.
• salt—This recipe calls for Diamond Crystal fine Kosher salt. If using regular table salt, add half the amount or the recipe may be too salty!
• Feel free to modify the amount and type of thickener. You can try using more to achieve a thicker, more set fruit filling, and try arrowroot or tapioca starch instead of cornstarch.
• I don't recommend using flour as a thickener because it will make the filling appear cloudy.

Nutrition

Calories: 528kcal | Carbohydrates: 85g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 20g | Saturated Fat: 12g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 49mg | Sodium: 134mg | Potassium: 380mg | Fiber: 9g | Sugar: 50g | Vitamin A: 766IU | Vitamin C: 19mg | Calcium: 64mg | Iron: 2mg

The post Apple Blackberry Crumble appeared first on The Bake School.

What is "rhuberry" or "bluebarb"?

Turns out, there's a name for the combination of blueberries and rhubarb, which is referred to as "bluebarb" or "rhuberry". So, if you ever come across a rhuberry pie or a bluebarb crisp, the recipe author is referring to a dessert made with both rhubarb and blueberry.

At first, this seemed like an unusual combination, but then again, blueberries have a mild flavour that really pops in sweet desserts and helps to balance stronger flavours, like astringent, mouth-puckering rhubarb.

I think I might like the combination of blueberry and rhubarb better than strawberry and rhubarb, which I baked together in these strawberry and rhubarb crumbles and these strawberry rhubarb muffins! Don't get me wrong: these are all tasty treats, but there's something more special about baking rhubarb with blueberries.

Thickeners for fruit fillings in crisps and crumbles

Just like with pies, the questions that are always up for debate are: what thickener should you use when making a fruit crisp and how much thickener is needed to thicken the fruit filling?

There are people that use no thickeners for fruit crisps and crumbles, leading to the cleanest fruit filling flavour without any risk of a potential cloudy look or starchy mouthfeel, which are both very possible since crisps are often baked for less time than pies. The filling for this apple crisp is made without a thickener. This also means that you may end up with a "soupier" fruit filling, depending on the fruit, the ripeness, the bake time, and also the volume of berries/rhubarb used.

There are other people that opt to use very small amounts of thickeners, like flour, cornstarch, or even arrowroot or tapioca starch.

Small amounts of thickener are great for setting less juicy pies like this wine-poached pear pie, this whiskey peach pie, or this maple apple pie. And small amounts of thickener work well for adding a little body to a saucy fruit crisp, like the one pictured here.

This rhubarb crumble was thickened with cornstarch and if you let the crumble cool down completely, the juices are quite set and the filling remains clear (not opaque).

Make sure the filling boils and cools down properly to achieve the proper set

In a blueberry rhubarb crisp of this size, with 2 pounds of fruit in the filling, in order for the thickener to do its job, you need to make sure the fruit filling, from edge to centre, bubbles and boils, otherwise there is no point.

It just won't gel without enough heat. Trust me. I tested shorter baking times and the results were mediocre.

The question of whether or not you use a thickener is really personal preference. For a dessert like an apple crisp for one or for these mini strawberry rhubarb crumbles, for example, you don't really need to debate the issue because you can easily get away without a thickener: apples don't contain as much water as blueberries and the smaller baking pans allow the filling to get very hot and thicken enough.

With summer fruit like blueberries and rhubarb, it's a matter of personal taste. By adding just 1 tablespoon of tapioca starch to the filling and properly bringing it up to a boil all the way to the middle, the filling will set, especially given the pectin in the blueberries will contribute to gelling the juices, if you let the dessert cool completely before serving.

If your rhubarb crisp is runny, are you sure it came to a boil in the middle? Perhaps next time you should bake it for longer and also add a little tapioca starch.

If you were to use this blueberry rhubarb filling to make a pie, inevitably, you would have to use a lot more starch, as in this rhubarb lattice pie, which required ½ cup tapioca starch to gel 2 pounds of fresh rhubarb.

Some of my best rhubarb recipes are made with just rhubarb, like this rhubarb jam, rhubarb bostock, rhubarb lattice pie, this rhubarb cake recipe (with double the rhubarb), and these mini orange cakes topped with rhubarb. Still, it's fun to mix it up too, like combining blueberries and rhubarb in this crisp, or strawberries and rhubarb in a crumble.

Things to note about marzipan

Adding marzipan to an oat crumble topping is BRILLIANT, I tell you. Then again, I might not be the most objective critique as I am pretty obsessed with addicted to marzipan. I love the stuff so much! Anyway, you can buy marzipan in bars or blocks, but be sure to buy a top quality marzipan, preferably of German origin because the Germans make great marzipan.

Buying marzipan

You know you are buying a good marzipan if they disclose the almond content on the packaging. The marzipan I buy tends to have around 50% almonds. Usually, I buy either Lübeckeror or Schluckwerder brand marzipan.

The marzipan from Schluckwerder seems to have more almond extract in it and therefore a more pronounced, bitter almond flavour, which I quite like. I used Schluckwerder marzipan for this recipe. In the past, I used Lübeckeror marzipan for the gorgeous Milk Bar style blackberry almond cake. The marzipan from Niederegger brand has 57% almonds or the Odense almond paste with 45% almonds should work too (buy it on Amazon). It's important to read the label of the marzipan because some have as little as 10–20% almonds, the rest being mostly sugar.

Baking with marzipan

The trouble with baking with marzipan is that it burns into something that is rock hard and unpleasant if you aren't careful. When I tested out this recipe the first time, I mixed together the fruit with the sugar, topped it with the marzipan crumble and baked everything together for 50 to 60 minutes. The marzipan burned on the top and the filling didn't gel properly because there wasn't enough time for the filling to boil without burning the crumble.

When I repeated the tests, I opted for a two-stage baking process: to bake the filling first for a good 45 minutes, then top the hot fruit filling with the crumble and bake for 30 more minutes to cook the crumble top. This works infinitely better. The marzipan still browns, but it's a good golden brown, not charcoal black.

Freezing instructions for rhubarb crisp

Please note that if you want to freeze this crisp, you should do so BEFORE baking. Here are the steps for freezing this recipe:

1. make the filling
2. place it in a zip-top freezer bag to seal it. Label the bag.
3. place the bag of filling in the baking dish you would have used to bake the crisp.
4. freeze the filling in the sealed bag in the baking dish so that it freezes in the shape of the dish. Once frozen solid, you can retrieve the baking dish.
5. make the crumble topping separately and place it in a zip-top freezer bag to seal it. Label and store the crumble topping in the freezer with the bag of frozen rhubarb filling.

To bake the frozen crisp

You can bake the crisp from frozen but it will take ages to properly bake and get the fruit filling to heat through and come to a boil in the middle. For this reason, I recommend defrosting the filling and the crumble in the refrigerator overnight before baking. This way you can follow the baking instructions as written.

To store the baked blueberry rhubarb crisp

I prefer to store this crisp at room temperature, wrapped with aluminum foil. I don't think it's necessary to store it in the fridge, but if it's very hot where you live, you might want to consider refrigerating the baked crisp in that case.

📖 Recipe

Print

Blueberry Rhubarb Crisp with Marzipan Crumble

Easy blueberry rhubarb crisp with a marzipan oat crumble makes the best summertime dessert to feed a crowd. Make sure to bake the fruit filling first so that it has time to cook and gel properly. The combination of blueberry and rhubarb is also referred to as bluebarb or rhuberry.

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 1 hour hour 15 minutes minutes

Total Time 1 hour hour 30 minutes minutes

Servings 10

Calories 298kcal

Author Janice Lawandi

Equipment

• Ceramic baking dish
• GIR spatula

Ingredients

Blueberry rhubarb filling

• 100 grams light brown sugar
• 16 grams tapioca starch or cornstarch or flour (you can use up to 30 grams or ¼ cup for a thicker fruit layer)
• 50 grams granulated sugar
• 1.25 mL Diamond Crystal fine kosher salt
• 450 grams fresh blueberries
• 450 grams fresh rhubarb fresh, chopped

Marzipan crumble topping

• 150 grams marzipan grated
• 60 grams bleached all-purpose flour
• 50 grams granulated sugar
• 50 grams ground almonds
• 45 grams rolled oats (or large flake oats)
• 1.25 mL Diamond Crystal fine kosher salt
• 80 grams unsalted butter melted

Metric - US

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 375ºF (190 °C). Butter the inside of a large 10 inch baking dish that is at least 3 inches deep. 

Prepare the blueberry rhubarb filling

• In a large bowl, combine the sugars with the fine kosher salt. If you are using a thickener, mix it with the sugars to make sure it is evenly dispersed.
• Add the fruit to the bowl and toss everything together to coat evenly. Transfer to the buttered baking dish, cover with foil, and bake on the middle rack for 45 minutes, stirring after 30 minutes.

Prepare the crumble topping

• In a large bowl, stir together the grated marzipan, flour, sugar, ground almonds, rolled oats and salt. Add the melted butter and mix to form a crumble.
• When the fruit has baked for 45 minutes, take the dish out of the oven, give the fruit a gentle stir, then sprinkle the crumble topping over the fruit.
• Put the baking dish back in the oven and bake the crumble, uncovered, until it is golden brown and the filling is bubbly, about 30 more minutes.
• Let rest before serving.

Notes

• This recipe calls for Diamond Crystal fine Kosher salt. If using regular table salt, add half the amount or the recipe may be too salty!
• Set the baking dish on a large cookie sheet or place a cookie sheet on the rack below to catch the bubbling hot fruit juice drips as they may burn on the bottom of your oven. 

Nutrition

Calories: 298kcal

Please note this post contains affiliate links to Amazon. If you buy a product I recommend, I will get a small commission, and the price you have to pay will not change in any way.

The post Blueberry rhubarb crisp with marzipan crumble appeared first on The Bake School.

What to bake with Concord grapes

I'd made a fantastic Concord grape & rosemary focaccia, but still had the rest of a basket of Concord grapes to get through. I briefly considered baking a Concord grape pie, but I was feeling rather lazy, which is why fruit crumble desserts are so awesome. For this crumble, I thought it would be cool to transform my favourite sandwich, the classic peanut butter & jelly sandwich, into a super easy homemade treat. I am a HUGE fan of peanut butter and jelly. As a kid, I went through a phase where for breakfast, I'd make mini Eggo pb & j sandwiches, slapping thick layers of peanut butter and jam between two toasted mini Eggo waffles. Let's just say it wasn't my healthiest of phases, but they sure tasted amazing.

Turning Concord grapes into fillings for pies and crumbles

A Concord grape filling takes a little more time than the usual crumble fruit filling for several reasons:

1. Concord grapes have seeds, so you can't just throw Concord grapes into any pie recipe. You've got to separate the seeds from the flesh/skin of the Concord grape, which means extra steps in any recipe with this fruit.
2. Concord grapes are very juicy, so when you want to turn Concord grapes into a pie or crumble filling, you need to precook the filling to release the grape juice and thicken it before assembling your pies and crumbles

The extra effort to prep Concord grape fillings is worth it here because this recipe makes a tart, jewel-toned jam layer that fits snuggly under a peanut buttery cookie topping. I like a generous amount of crumble on my fruit bakes and this peanut butter crumble topping recipe makes a double batch, enough to make this crumble and even a few cookies baked on the side for snacking on later. If you aren't a fan of peanut butter, you can always swap out this peanut butter crumble and opt for a honey oat crumble or even a chocolate crumble instead. I think a grape crumble would be great with any of these toppings.

Peanut butter crumble topping

You can make classic peanut butter cookies and chewy peanut butter cookies with white chocolate chunks, but peanut butter also pairs so well with many berries and fruits, so why not turn peanut butter into a peanut butter crumble topping with a few oats for added texture? You can use smooth or chunky peanut butter, but for this recipe, I opted for unsweetened peanut butter so that I could control how much sugar was going into the topping. If you use sweetened peanut butter, the results may differ.

📖 Recipe

Print

Concord Grape and Peanut Butter Crumble

This dessert is a fun play on the classic peanut butter & jelly sandwich: a peanut butter crumble topping on top of a Concord grape compote makes this Concord grape crisp with peanut butter crumble the most comforting dessert

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Prep Time 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time 40 minutes minutes

Total Time 1 hour hour 10 minutes minutes

Servings 8

Calories 446kcal

Author Janice Lawandi

Equipment

• Deep 7-in baking dish

Ingredients

For Filling

• 480 grams Concord grapes roughly 3¾ cups
• 100 grams granulated sugar
• 7.5 mL fresh lemon juice
• 15 mL minute tapioca

For the peanut butter crumble

• 70 grams rolled oats (or large flake oats)
• 45 grams bleached all-purpose flour
• 50 grams light brown sugar
• 60 grams all natural, unsweetened smooth peanut butter
• 58 grams unsalted butter

Metric - US

Instructions

To make the filling

• Rinse the grapes thoroughly and dry them.
• Pinch grapes to push out the green flesh. Put the flesh into a medium saucepan, reserving the skins in a 7 inch round ramekin baking dish (like this one on Amazon).
• Add sugar and lemon juice to the pan, and cook on medium-high heat to bring the mixture to a boil. Continue heating for 6 to 8 minutes, until the flesh breaks down and releases the tiny seeds.
• Strain the mixture and push it through a sieve placed over the bowls of grape skins.
• Let the mixture cool for 10 minutes, add the tapioca, and then let it sit for 1 hour to cool at room temperature.

To make the peanut butter crumble

• Preheat the oven to 350ºF.
• Mix all the dry ingredients in a medium bowl, then work in the butter, followed by the peanut butter until the mixture resembles a coarse crumble (you can use your hands, a fork, or a pastry cutter for this step).
• Crumble the mixture over the grape filling.
• Bake the crumble for about 40 minutes, until the fruit filling is bubbling hot and the crumble is beginning to brown on the top.
• Let the crumble cool about 30 minutes before serving. Serve warm or cold.

Notes

• For the tapioca, I used Kraft minute tapioca available on Amazon
• "Natural" nut butters tend to separate as they sit, with the solids sticking to the bottom of the container and the oil floating to the top. Make sure to scrape, stir, and shake well before measuring to ensure a good mix of both components.

Nutrition

Calories: 446kcal

The post Concord grape crisp with peanut butter crumble topping appeared first on The Bake School.

I love making big fruit crisps, like this traditional strawberry rhubarb crumble, or crazy flavour combos like this cherry chocolate crumble and this Concord grape crisp with peanut butter crumble (so good!). But fruit desserts tend to make a lot of servings, and I am only one person who probably shouldn't eat an entire apple crisp by herself.

Ingredients you need to make this dessert

If you want to make just one serving of apple crisp, you will need small amounts of the same ingredients that go into a full sized dessert:

• apple, preferably a variety that holds its shape, like Cortland or Empire. Macintosh apples will also work but they break down more.
• sugar, either granulated or brown sugar or a combination of both is needed to sweeten the fruit layer and to make the crumble topping
• warm spices, like cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, or ginger work well in this easy dessert
• oats give texture to the crumble topping
• flour binds the topping together
• butter adds richness to the topping and helps caramelize and toast the crumble, bringing out nutty flavours
• nuts, like pecans, add texture to the crumble topping and flavour (you could substitute walnuts, almonds, sunflower seeds, etc)
• salt is always great for balancing the sweetness of desserts and bringing a little depth so that it isn't one-noted

This method is perfectly timed: the crumble topping takes 2 minutes to cook on the stove, while the apple takes 2 minutes to cook in the microwave. GENIUS.

I don't think a recipe can be easier than this. If you can chop an apple and microwave it, and in the meantime, cook some crumble topping on the stove for 2 minutes, then you can make this.

The apples are warm and comforting, and the crumble topping is crisp and sweet. It's everything an apple crisp should be, without having to commit to a whole pan. I think we could all use a little apple crisp in our lives, at a moment's notice. Treat yourself. If you need more dessert for one inspiration, try this chocolate cake in a mug, baked in a mug in the microwave.

📖 Recipe

Print

Apple Crisp For One

You are literally less than 10 minutes away from a serving of apple crisp with this recipe, and it’s everything an apple crisp should be, without having to commit to a whole pan.

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Prep Time 4 minutes minutes

Cook Time 4 minutes minutes

Total Time 8 minutes minutes

Servings 1

Calories 358kcal

Author Janice Lawandi

Equipment

• Ramekins

Ingredients

Apple base ingredients

• 1 Cortland apple(s) I used an Empire apple, peeled, cored and diced
• 2 pinches ground cinnamon
• 2.5 mL granulated sugar
• 10 grams unsalted butter cut into pieces
• 5 grams bleached all-purpose flour
• 10 grams dark brown sugar
• 5 grams rolled oats (or large flake oats)
• 5 grams Nuts like 2 pecans and a few sunflower seeds
• 1 pinch Diamond Crystal fine kosher salt
• 10 grams unsalted butter

Metric - US

Instructions

• In a microwave safe bowl, combine the apple base ingredients, dotting with the pieces of butter. Microwave on high for 2 minutes, stopping it to stir halfway through the cooking time.
• Meanwhile, in a fry pan, combine the crumble topping ingredients. Cook the crumble on medium–high heat for about 2 minutes, swirling the pan every so often and stirring with a wooden spoon to evenly distribute the butter as it melts and to form clusters of crumble topping. The nuts will toast during this step so be careful not the burn them. Take the pan off the heat when the topping is cooked.
• Top the cooked apple with crumble topping and enjoy.

Nutrition

Calories: 358kcal | Carbohydrates: 48g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 20g | Saturated Fat: 11g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 43mg | Sodium: 47mg | Potassium: 275mg | Fiber: 7g | Sugar: 31g | Vitamin A: 605IU | Vitamin C: 8mg | Calcium: 51mg | Iron: 1mg

The post How to make apple crisp for one appeared first on The Bake School.

Where I live, early apple season overlaps with the late blueberry season, and this is the dessert for that time of the year. Realistically, your grocery store will carry both apples and blueberries year-round so if you miss that late summer opportunity to make this apple dessert, you can still do it with what's at the store.

This apple and blueberry crumble combines the flavour of the best blueberry pie with the simplicity of an easy apple crisp together in one beautiful apple dessert.

Ingredients

You don't need much to make this apple blueberry and you probably have most of the ingredients in your fridge and pantry. The dessert has two components. A fruit filling and an oat crumble topping. Here's what you need to make this:

• Apple blueberry filling
  • apples—I prefer to use apples that keep their shape when cooked, like Cortland, Gala, or Honey Crisp apples. Macintosh apples may break down too much and turn to mush.
  • fresh blueberries—I prefer fresh blueberries because frozen blueberries break down more and release a lot more water than fresh
  • sugar—any sugar, whether white sugar or brown sugar works
  • cornstarch—any thickener will work, though I don't recommend using flour in this recipe because it's not strong enough to gel the blueberry juices enough
  • lemon juice—brightens the filling and also helps to balance the sweetness of the fruit filling.
  • vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste is optional but I love the sweet flavour of vanilla paired with berries and fruit.
• Oat crumble topping
  • flour—all-purpose (bleached or unbleached) or whole wheat all-purpose will work, providing structure for the crumble topping
  • sugar—to help soften the texture of the crumble and also sweetens it because without it the topping will taste very bland
  • oats—use large flake oats, not minute oats or quick oats which are much finer and will lead to a different texture
  • salt—I used fine kosher salt which is less salty than table salt, but by all means, use regular salt, but you may want to use less
  • butter—use unsalted butter, but if you want to use salted, just skip or reduce the salt in the crumble, otherwise the topping may be too salty for you.

Please see the recipe card for the exact ingredients and quantities.

Instructions

Since there are two components to any crumble or crisp, there are two components to make before you can get this apple blueberry crumble in the oven.

Making the oat crumble topping

Combine the dry ingredients of the crumble in a big bowl and whisk them together. Take the time to evenly distribute sugar, oats, salt, and flour before you add the butter, otherwise, you may end up with patches of salt or sugar in your crumble topping.

Once the dry ingredients are well mixed, work the butter into them with your fingertips. You can squish the cubes of butter and also rub handfuls of the mixture between your palms in order to form a chunky, crumbly mixture. If you work it too much, it will be more like cookie dough, and if you work it less, it will be more sandy and floury. The good news is all roads lead to a yummy crumble, so don't stress too much about the texture.

Keep the crumble in the fridge so it's cold.

Preparing the fruit for a crumble or crisp

Before you prepare the filling for any fruit crumble, take the time to butter the baking dish. A little extra butter is always a good thing, plus I think it is easier to serve after baking in a buttered dish and filling that bubbles over the edges doesn't stick as badly if the dish is buttered.

Once the dish is prepped, all you have to do is combine the fruit with the sugar and thickener (and vanilla or spices, if using). Again, take the time to stir the filling for a long time in order to properly coat it all with the sugar and thickener.

You don't want all the sugar to sit on the bottom of the baking dish as you may end up with a lumpy, undissolved mass of sugar and starch at the bottom. Take a few minutes to do this step. You can either use a wooden spoon or your hands (which sometimes do a better job of mixing at this step).

Baking it enough

A lot of people skimp on the baking time when it comes to crisps and crumble. I've seen a lot of recipes that bake them in under 30 minutes. That's just not enough! You want the fruit to be tender, you want the berries to burst a little so that the thickeners can do their job properly. The filling ideally should come up to a boil, especially if you are working with cornstarch or flour as a thickener, which gels at a higher temperature.

Hint: check the internal temperature of a crisp or crumble right in the middle to make sure it's heated all the way through to the centre! Use a Thermapen One or a ChefAlarm.

Sometimes, I like to bake the fruit first, then add the crumble topping to bake again. This gives the fruit more time to break down and release their juices so that the thickener can do its job. Do this for the blueberry rhubarb crumble and the plain rhubarb crumble.

Equipment

You don't need any special baking tools to make this apple blueberry crumble. That's the beauty of crisps and crumbles! Still, I recommend a deep ceramic baking dish, as opposed to a pie plate, which is too shallow for the volume of filling.

Substitutions

Crumbles are very forgiving and there are several opportunities for substitutions:

• Sugar—instead of using white granulated sugar, you can use light brown sugar or a combination of the two. You can also replace a portion with maple syrup or honey for more flavour.
• Apples—use Cortland, Gala, Honey Crisp, Golden Delicious, or any apple that can withstand cooking without turning to apple sauce. Granny Smith apples will work too, but you may have to up the sugar in the filling to compensate for their tart flavour
• Flour—I made the crumble topping with bleached all-purpose flour, but whole wheat all-purpose will work too!
• Cornstarch—you can try arrowroot or tapioca which will likely lead to a thicker filling.

Variations

This easy apple dessert can be a jumping off for so many variations. Here are some ideas:

• Pear and blueberry crumble—replace the apples with pears and will be so delicious!
• Spices—add ground green cardamom seeds, which will add floral notes to the filling OR add ground cinnamon to the topping
• Citrus—add lemon or orange zest to either the filling or the crumble topping—the citrus oils will add a ton of flavour, which goes so well with blueberries

Fruit Crumbles and Crisps FAQs

More Berry Baking Recipes

If you love blueberries, be sure to check out this easy moist blueberry crumb cake and these delicious honey blueberry muffins.

And if you have more time, try making a small batch of blueberry jam or a blueberry pie with a lattice pie crust!

If you tried this recipe for the best apple and blueberry crumble (or any other recipe on my website), please leave a ⭐ star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below. I love hearing from you!

📖 Recipe

Print

Apple and Blueberry Crumble

This easy apple and blueberry crisp, made from fresh blueberries and sliced apples, is topped with a sweet oat crumble.

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Prep Time 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time 1 hour hour

Total Time 1 hour hour 20 minutes minutes

Servings 6

Calories 458kcal

Author Janice Lawandi

Equipment

• Ceramic baking dish
• Sheet pan

Ingredients

Oat crumble topping

• 115 grams unsalted butter cold, cut into cubes
• 100 grams granulated sugar
• 95 grams bleached all-purpose flour you can also use a mix of all-purpose and buckwheat, or all-purpose and whole wheat
• 70 grams rolled oats (or large flake oats)
• 1.25 mL Diamond Crystal fine kosher salt

Apple filling

• 650 grams Cortland apple(s) I used 4 Cortland apples
• 450 grams fresh blueberries washed, dried, and picked over
• 50 grams granulated sugar
• 30 mL cornstarch
• 15 mL fresh lemon juice
• 5 mL vanilla bean paste
• Vanilla bean ice cream optional for serving

Metric - US

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 400°F (200 °C). Butter a large baking dish or casserole dish (10 inch (25 cm) diameter and fairly deep) and set it on a large rimmed baking sheet lined with parchment (to catch any drips). Set aside.

Oat crumble topping

• In a large bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, oats, sugar, and salt. Add in the cubes of cold butter and toss it in the dry mixture to coat all the pieces. You can do this with your fingertips. Press and work the butter into the dry ingredients until you have a crumbly topping with lots of texture. Set aside. You can refrigerate the crumble topping if your kitchen is warm.

Apple filling

• Peel and core the apples then slice them.
• Wash, dry, and pick over the blueberries to remove any stems or twigs.
• Toss the apples and blueberries with the cornstarch, sugar, lemon juice, and vanilla bean paste. Make sure the fruit is evenly coated. Pour the fruit evenly into the bottom of the buttered baking dish.
• Scatter globs of the crumble topping over the fruit.
• Bake the blueberry apple crumble for 40 minutes, then turn down the temperature to 350 ºF (175 °C). Continue baking until the fruit layer is bubbling, the topping is golden brown. This takes another 20 minutes or so.
• Let cool on a wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature with vanilla ice cream.

Notes

• Feel free to modify the amount and type of thickener. You can try using more to achieve a thicker, more set fruit filling, and try arrowroot or tapioca starch instead of cornstarch.
• I don't recommend using flour as a thickener because blueberries have too much water in them and the filling will be way too soupy, and also appear cloudy, if you use flour.
• This recipe calls for Diamond Crystal fine Kosher salt. If using regular table salt, add half the amount or the recipe may be too salty!

Nutrition

Calories: 458kcal | Carbohydrates: 76g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 17g | Saturated Fat: 10g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 41mg | Sodium: 86mg | Potassium: 241mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 44g | Vitamin A: 578IU | Vitamin C: 13mg | Calcium: 25mg | Iron: 2mg

Storage

Once completely cooled down to room temperature, you can store crisps and crumbles at room temperature, covered in aluminum foil for three or four days.

This recipe likely won't freeze well, but it could be worth a try.

Other recipes to bake with blueberries

Make the most of blueberry season and bake these recipes with them:

• scones with blueberries
• blueberry jam
• best blueberry pie
• blueberry muffins with honey
• low sugar blueberry bran muffins
• blueberry rhubarb crisp
• blueberry oatmeal cookies with white chocolate
• blueberry hand pies

The post Apple and Blueberry Crumble appeared first on The Bake School.

Apple Crisp Versus Crumble

I know I'm not alone in the debate of crisp versus crumble. It's confusing! Some people call them apple crisps, others apple crumble. So what is the difference between the two?

It seems the two names are used interchangeably, yet fruit desserts made with an oat crumble topping should technically be called crisps, while the absence of oats makes those desserts a crumble. So if your apple crumble has oats in the topping, technically you should call it apple crisp.

Remember that apple crisps and crumbles are different than pies: pie has a crust on the bottom, and on top, either a crust or a crumble. On the other hand, crisps and crumbles are made with nothing on the bottom so the fruit filling is placed directly in the baking dish with a single layer of crumble topping baked over it. 

Best Baking Dish For Crisps and Crumbles

With fruit desserts without a bottom crust, you want to be mindful of the material of your bakeware. Avoid reactive materials like aluminum that might break down in the presence of acidic fruit. For this reason, use ceramic dishes or glass dishes to make crisps and crumbles, and save the metal pans for pies.

Best Apple Variety for Baking

The type of apple you use is entirely dependent on the recipe you are baking. For pies, I usually stick to Cortland apples which bake soft but keep their shape, even if the pie is baked for over an hour. On the other hand, if you are making apple sauce, you want to choose a variety of apple that does break down, so McIntosh apples are perfect for apple sauce because they become soft and fall apart the longer they are cooked/baked.

Apple crisps and crumbles are VERY forgiving and you could use any variety of apple for the filling. That being said, some varieties are better for baking, while others are known for flavour:

• If you use apple varieties that break down when heated (like McIntosh apples, Empire, Jona Gold, Paula Red, etc.), you end up with a saucier apple crisp. Delish!
• If you use a firmer apple that can take the heat and keep its shape (like Granny Smith, Delicious, or Cortland apples), you end up with soft pieces of fruit on the bottom of your crisp. That's great too!

Using more than one type of apple

Combining apples that cook down and become saucy with apples that hold their shape makes for an apple crisp that is the best of both worlds, but truly, any apple will do!

I like to combine McIntosh apples with Cortlands because the McIntosh bring a lot of flavour (bright, slightly acidic) but tend to break down when cooked, while the Cortland apples are good for holding their shape when cooked though they have a milder flavour. Both of these apple varieties are readily available in my area, year round. 

Thickeners for Apple Desserts

Apples require little to no thickeners and this is especially dependant on the dessert you are making and the type of apples. For example, for this maple apple pie, I used just 30 mL (2 tablespoons) of flour to thicken up the apple filling for the pie, which was made with almost 2 kilograms (4 pounds) of apples!

I don't add a thickener to the apples in an apple crisp, generally. Whether or not you do is entirely up to you, but apples aren't known for releasing so much water as they bake, so a little thickener goes a long way in a dessert like this. And given that there isn't too much water in apples, you should stick to flour as a thickener, if you want to use one. Cornstarch and tapioca are too powerful for this recipe. You'd end up with a dry, goopy filling. Save the tapioca for a dessert with berries or rhubarb, like this blueberry rhubarb crisp. In that case, you NEED tapioca because the fruit release a ton of water as they bake.

If you feel like a thickener is necessary for your apple crisp, add 15 to 30 mL (1 to 2 tablespoon) of flour to thicken apple filling with 1.25 kg (2.75 lbs) of apples. You wouldn't need much more than that. And if you find your apple crisp is watery, if you didn't use a thickener for the apples, try adding a little flour to the filling next time. The flour will help gel the water so that the filling is less loose and watery.

Toppings

Fruit crisps are a fruit dessert where the prepared fruit are baked with oat crumble on top. If there's no oats in the recipe, it's a fruit crumble. Some crisps have a very "powdery" or granular topping that is hardly held together. Other crisp toppings can be more chunky. It's a matter of personal preference.

 I like to make my crispy toppings for fruit crisps and crumbles like cookie dough, as opposed to a sandy mixture. This is a similar topping to the one in this apple crumble cake. I worked the topping together until it forms a sweet cookie dough with a thick texture. Then I can drop globs of the dough over the fruit before baking.

Cold butter vs melted  vs softened

Butter temperature plays an important role in baking. For most crisps and crumbles, recipes suggest to use cold butter, working it into the dry ingredients as you would for pie dough. With this mixing method, I find that the topping is less clumpy and more powdery because there is no liquid to bind the dry ingredients together and the butter is too cold to do that job well.

Lately, I've been making crumble toppings for fruit crisps with softened butter and working it into the dry ingredients until the mixture forms cookie dough, using my fingertips. This way, you can use your fingers to break it apart into larger nuggets of dough and scatter those big chunks of cookie dough over the fruit: this way you end up with larger hunks of topping over the fruit. The topping becomes very crunchy as it bakes.

You can also use melted butter to help bind the dry ingredients and this is another easy way. With this method, I think a fork would be best for mixing the ingredients together. Again the topping will form larger clumps than with cold butter, giving you a more crunchy, cookie-like topping.

For the crisp topping, I used all-purpose flour, but feel free to explore alternatives, replacing up to half with whole-wheat or even a gluten-free flour like buckwheat (which adds a stronger, earthier flavour). You could also replace some of the flour with more oats, depending on how you like your crumble topping. Apple crisp is highly adaptable so there's room for experimenting and for tweaking the recipe to make it your own.

• replace up to half the amount of all-purpose with an alternative flour, like buckwheat flour, whole wheat, or even rye:
  • use 30 grams all-purpose flour + 30 grams buckwheat flour (or whole wheat or rye flour)

Although the gluten in a crumb topping isn't as vital as it is in a cake, I don't suggest replacing all of the all-purpose flour with buckwheat or another alternative flour because the flavour would be very strong. If you want to make the topping gluten-free, combine half buckwheat and half oat flour or millet flour, for example.

Feel free to add nuts to the crumble topping as well. Add 60 mL (¼ cup) of chopped nuts (like pecans, walnuts, or almonds) when making the crumble topping.

To store, cover the apple crisp with a layer of aluminum foil AFTER it's cooled completely. If you cover it when warm, your oat crumble will soften from the humidity trapped under the foil. If that happens, pop the apple crisp back in the oven at 350 ºF to warm it up and help crisp the topping. I store apple crisp at room temperature, and it gets eaten within a day or two.

This apple crisp serves 6 people (or 4 people generously), and if you only want to make a portion for yourself, try this apple crisp for one recipe that makes just one serving in under 5 minutes!

Variations on Apple Crisp

If you love to bake apple crisps, you will love these applesauce oatmeal bars, made like date squares, combining applesauce and diced apple for the filling. Also check out this apple crumble cake, the cake version of an apple crisp!

If you tried this recipe for the best apple crisp (or any other recipe on my website), please leave a ⭐ star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below. I love hearing from you!

📖 Recipe

Print

Apple Crisp

This easy apple crisp is topped with chunks of sweet dough that bake into crunchy nuggets of cookie.

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Prep Time 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time 1 hour hour

Total Time 1 hour hour 20 minutes minutes

Servings 6

Calories 413kcal

Author Janice Lawandi

Equipment

• Ceramic baking dish
• Sheet pan

Ingredients

Oat crumble topping

• 115 grams unsalted butter softened
• 100 grams light brown sugar
• 63 grams bleached all-purpose flour you can also use a mix of all-purpose and buckwheat, or all-purpose and whole wheat
• 70 grams rolled oats (or large flake oats)
• 1.25 mL Diamond Crystal fine kosher salt

Apple filling

• 1.25 kg Cortland apple(s) I used 5 McIntosh and 3 Cortland
• 30 mL light brown sugar
• 30 mL bleached all-purpose flour optional thickener for filling
• 15 mL fresh lemon juice
• 5 mL vanilla bean paste
• 3.75 mL ground cinnamon
• 1 pinch ground nutmeg freshly grated

Additional optional toppings

• 15 mL rolled oats (or large flake oats)
• 15 mL Turbinado sugar

Metric - US

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter a 1.5 L baking dish and set it on a large rimmed baking sheet. Set aside.

Oat crumble topping

• Mix the butter, brown sugar, all-purpose flour, oats, and salt. You can do this with your fingertips, working the mixture until a cookie dough forms. Set aside.

Apple filling

• Peel and core the apples then slice them.
• Toss the apples with the sugar, lemon juice, flour (if using), vanilla bean paste, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Make sure the apples are evenly coated. Pour them evenly into the bottom of the prepared baking dish.
• Scatter globs of the crumble topping over the apples, then sprinkle with the remaining 1 tablespoon of oats and 1 tablespoon of turbinado.
• Bake the apple crisp for about 1 hour, until the apples are cooked through, the topping is golden browned, and the filling is bubbling.
• Let cool on a wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Notes

• This recipe calls for Diamond Crystal fine Kosher salt. If using regular table salt, add half the amount or the recipe may be too salty!

Nutrition

Calories: 413kcal | Carbohydrates: 67g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 17g | Saturated Fat: 10g | Cholesterol: 41mg | Sodium: 92mg | Potassium: 305mg | Fiber: 7g | Sugar: 43g | Vitamin A: 591IU | Vitamin C: 11mg | Calcium: 47mg | Iron: 1mg

The post Easy Apple Crisp appeared first on The Bake School.

I LOVE rhubarb, but I hate waiting for rhubarb to grow. I live in Quebec and because our winters tend to drag on, we don't usually see rhubarb before the before the end of May or even the beginning of June. Better late than never.

There are so many great rhubarb recipes you can make when it's in season to take advantage of it, like rhubarb cake, rhubarb scones, rhubarb jam, rhubarb pudding cakes, rhubarb pop tarts, to name a few. You can even roast rhubarb to make a filling for a rhubarb chocolate tart or serve with multigrain waffles (or ice cream).

I had to kick off my rhubarb baking with crumbles because I love late spring and summer crumbles. I couldn't wait for that moment when I cracked open the oven to peak inside and find bubbly, drippy crumbles overflowing in the oven. It's possibly one of the best, most satisfying moments in the kitchen when I'm baking. The bubbling means it's done. The drippiness means it's homemade and made with love, and every little drip and dribble means it's going to be yummy. A homemade strawberry rhubarb crisp is definitely one of the best rhubarb recipes you can make.

I worked out these crumbles so that each ramekin would have 1 stalk of rhubarb and 1 giant strawberry (or a couple of little ones). Also, I upped the butter in my crumble topping because more butter is usually a yes in my books. And because I'm a rebel, I broke the typical crumble topping rules: I used room temperature, soft butter and not the usual fridge-cold stuff. I've noticed that it's just easier to get a nice clustered crumble topping with room-temperature butter. Try it and see for yourself.

I've been in the mood for honey, so I sweetened both the crumble and the fruits with local spring honey from Miels d'Anicet. This means that your kitchen will fill with the warm intoxicating scent of honey as the crumbles bake. It's really quite powerful and comforting.

So, what's not to love? It's loaded with strawberries and rhubarb. It smells divine as it bakes, and it's topped with a mound of oat crumble. It's what I've been waiting to bake with rhubarb for over a month. Pies are a great way to get the spring-summer baking started, but let's face it: a honey-kissed rhubarb crumble is way easier and, dare I say, even better!

If you tried this recipe for the best strawberry rhubarb crumble (or any other recipe on my website), please leave a ⭐ star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below. I love hearing from you!

📖 Recipe

Print

Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp with Honey

These strawberry rhubarb crumbles are easier to make than a rhubarb pie, but equally satisfying. The dessert is sweetened with honey for a more flavourful treat.

Course Dessert

Cuisine British

Prep Time 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes minutes

Total Time 50 minutes minutes

Servings 4

Calories 303kcal

Author Janice Lawandi

Equipment

• Ramekins

Ingredients

• 63 grams bleached all-purpose flour
• 63 grams rolled oats (or large flake oats)
• 42 grams unsalted butter softened
• 25 grams honey
• 4 fresh strawberries or 8 little ones
• 450 grams fresh rhubarb
• 4 tablespoon honey
• 4 pinches grey salt for finishing

Metric - US

Instructions

• In a large bowl, make the crumble by combining the flour and oats, and then working in the butter with your fingertips. When the mixture resembles a coarse crumble, add in the 25 grams of honey and work it in with a fork or your fingers. Set aside in the fridge.
• Hull and slice the strawberries (either in 2 or 4, depending on the size). Divide among 4 ramekins.
• Slice the rhubarb and divide it among the ramekins, then place a tablespoon of honey in each and mix to coat.
• Top with the cold crumble mixture, and finish with a sprinkling of salt.
• Bake in a 350ºF (175 °C) oven for 30–40 min, until the fruit is bubbling and the crumble begins to brown lightly.

Notes

• I made this crumble with Stirling Churn 84 butter

Nutrition

Calories: 303kcal | Carbohydrates: 51g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 23mg | Sodium: 396mg | Potassium: 433mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 24g | Vitamin A: 379IU | Vitamin C: 16mg | Calcium: 114mg | Iron: 2mg

I do my best to bake with the finest ingredients. Stirling Creamery, a Canadian company, has provided the butter for this post.

The post Strawberry Rhubarb Crumble With Honey appeared first on The Bake School.

When it's peak rhubarb season, I love to bake recipes that feature rhubarb on its own so this tart ingredient can shine, whether that's in a small batch rhubarb jam or a rhubarb pie without strawberries. These recipes and this rhubarb crisp without oats allow the tart flavour of rhubarb to dominate.

Crisp Versus Crumble

The naming of desserts with fruit is confusing: there are crisps, crumbles, cobblers, grunts, and the list goes on.

Though a crisp meant a base of fruit topped with a crumbly oat topping, whereas a crumble had no oats, nowadays, the two names are used interchangeably. I'm calling this a rhubarb crumble, but in your household, maybe you'd call it a rhubarb crisp. Either way, it's delicious!

Ingredients

This easy recipe calls for a very short list of ingredients. If you've got rhubarb, then you probably have everything else in your pantry to make this easy rhubarb dessert!

• rhubarb—use fresh rhubarb if you can (trimmed and washed thoroughly) but frozen will also work
• sugar—I used granulated sugar for the filling, but light brown sugar would also be nice, adding a little flavour to the filling
• thickener—I prefer cornstarch as a thickener with rhubarb because of the water it releases
• vanilla—either vanilla bean paste or pure vanilla extract
• flour—you can use any type of flour for the crumble topping. I used bleached all-purpose flour
• salt—Diamond Crystal fine kosher salt
• butter—unsalted butter cold and cut into cubes
• raspberries are very much optional in this recipe: I add them to rhubarb fillings to enhance the pink colour if the rhubarb is very green

Please see the recipe card for the exact ingredients and quantities.

Thickeners for Rhubarb Desserts

Rhubarb has a lot of water, more than you would think when you look at it and cut into it. This means, if you don't add enough thickener to it, the juices will create a soupy filling that is difficult to serve and quite watery.

You need to incorporate a thickener in rhubarb fillings in order to thicken the juices and gel them so that the filling is jammy and set, not watery and overly loose.

• Flour is an easy choice, but flour creates a filling that is more opaque and white-ish. Flour is also not as potent as other thickeners, so you may have to use a lot more, which will then interfere with the flavour of rhubarb desserts.
• Starches like cornstarch, tapioca starch, or minute tapioca are preferable for desserts with rhubarb. All of these thickeners create a rhubarb filling that is set, clear, and vibrant in colour and taste.

Oat-free: Not every crumble topping has to have oats in it and the toppings can vary quite a bit. Many people prefer them without! This cherry crumble is topped with a crumble made with cocoa powder. This grape crisp has oats and peanut butter in the crumble topping. This mango crisp has sliced almonds in the topping.

Variations and Substitutions

If you want to bake a fruit crumble without a thickener, try these strawberry rhubarb crumbles. Baked in smaller ramekins, the smaller volume of filling has a better chance of heating up and bubbling, and the strawberries contribute a certain amount of pectin to help gel the fruit layer.

Some bakers use the crumble topping as a thickener, stirring a portion of it into the filling instead of flour or cornstarch. This is another option you can consider, but I have never tried it.

Tips for Achieving the Perfect Set

• use enough thickener for the amount of fruit you are baking: for 2 pounds of fruit in the filling, in order for the thickener to do its job, you need to make sure the fruit filling, from edge to centre, bubbles and boils.
• bring it to a boil: if you don't ensure the middle of the fruit layer is bubbling, the filling just won't gel without enough heat. Trust me. I tested shorter baking times and the results were mediocre.
• let the crumble or crisp cool down completely for several hours, if not overnight, before serving. This gives enough time for the filling to gel.

I photographed this rhubarb crumble the day it was baked, about an hour later so it was still warm and a little more fluid, but by the next morning, the filling was completely set.

Tip: Make this dessert the day before to give it ample time to set, then reheat it just before serving to warm it up!

How to Make a Rhubarb Crumble

Step 1: Combine half the chopped rhubarb with the sugar and thickener in your 8x8 or 9x9 baking dish. Roast it to release some of the water, which will help evenly disperse the sugar and thickener.

Step 2: Once all the sugar is dissolved and the water has been released from the partially baked rhubarb, I add the rest of the fruit (and a couple of raspberries if needed to enhance the pink colour).

Step 3: Prepare the crumble topping by combining the dry ingredients with cold butter so it has a coarse uneven texture.

Step 4: Top the fruit with an even layer of crumble from edge to edge. Use it all!

Bake the rhubarb dessert until the filling is bubbling in the middle and the topping is golden brown all over.

Top Tip: Baking in two stages

For fruits that contain a lot of water, like blueberries and rhubarb, I prefer to bake crumbles and crisps in two stages, a trick I learned from Stella Parks.

1. Bake half the fruit with the sugar and thickener to get the juices flowing and to get the thickener hydrated.
2. Mix in the rest of the fruit and top with the crumble topping to finish baking.

With this method, the filling has a mixture of soft jammy fruit with pieces of fruit that hold their shape. It's the best of both worlds.

Baking in two stages also allows you to give the filling a better chance of cooking properly so that the juices gel. It also gives you a chance to stir the filling a little more, part way through the baking process, so that you know the sugar is dissolved and evenly dispersed, as well as the thickener.

This is a technique I used for the blueberry rhubarb crisp because otherwise, the filling was too loose and the crumble topping would burn before the filling came to a boil when I tried to bake them together in one step.

Serving Suggestions

I love to serve warm fruit crumbles and crisps with plain vanilla ice cream, this cardamom ice cream or even this lemon custard ice cream, but you can also serve them with sweetened whipped cream or vanilla bean crème anglaise (custard sauce).

Rhubarb Baking FAQs

More Rhubarb Recipes

If you love to bake with rhubarb as much as I do, you will love these other rhubarb recipes:

If you tried this recipe for the best rhubarb crumble (or any other recipe on my website), please leave a ⭐ star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below. I love hearing from you!

📖 Recipe

Print

Rhubarb Crumble

This easy rhubarb crumble recipe is made from simple ingredients you probably have in your pantry! This rhubarb crisp is baked in stages to ensure the filling sets properly and the crumble topping bakes without burning.

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Prep Time 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time 1 hour hour 30 minutes minutes

Total Time 1 hour hour 50 minutes minutes

Servings 8

Calories 401kcal

Author Janice Lawandi

Equipment

• 8-inch Pyrex

Ingredients

Rhubarb filling

• 1 kg fresh rhubarb trimmed and washed thoroughly
• 250 grams granulated sugar
• 32 grams cornstarch
• 30 mL water
• 5 mL vanilla bean paste or pure vanilla extract
• 10 Fresh raspberries optional (adds pink colour if your rhubarb is very green)

Crumble topping

• 185 grams bleached all-purpose flour
• 100 grams granulated sugar
• 1.25 mL Diamond Crystal fine kosher salt
• 115 grams unsalted butter cold and cut into cubes

Optional

• Vanilla bean ice cream for serving

Metric - US

Instructions

Rhubarb filling

• Preheat the oven to 400 ºF (200 °C). Place a 8x8x2 inch (20x20x5 cm) ceramic baking dish (like a deep square Pyrex or a ceramic baking dish with at least 2 inch sides) on a parchment-lined sheet pan. Set aside.
• Slice washed rhubarb into 1 inch (2.5 cm) pieces. Place half the rhubarb in the baking dish. Sprinkle the sugar, cornstarch, and water over top, then toss the ingredients together to evenly coat all the rhubarb. You can use your hands for this.
• Cover the baking dish with a sheet of aluminum foil then bake the rhubarb for 30 minutes. When you carefully peel back the foil, you will see the rhubarb should be soft and has released a lot of water.
• Fold in the rest of the rhubarb and the vanilla bean paste (or extract) to make sure the filling is well mixed using a heatproof spatula. You can also add a few raspberries for colour. Set aside.

Crumble topping

• Drop the oven temperature to 375 ºF (190 °C).
• In a large bowl, whisk the flour, sugar, and salt.
• Drop the cubes of butter into the bowl and using your hands toss them in the flour mixture to coat them. Work the butter into the flour using your finger tips to form a crumbly mixture.
• Sprinkle the crumble over the rhubarb filling. Bake the rhubarb crumble, uncovered, until the filling is bubbling and very hot, even in the middle, and the topping is golden. This will take about an hour, if not more.
• Let cool for at least an hour (if not several hours) so that the juices set. Serve plain or topped with vanilla ice cream.

Video

Notes

• The raspberries are optional. We add them to make sure our rhubarb filling is bright pink, especially when rhubarb is green. You can skip them or replace them with strawberries.
• This recipe calls for Diamond Crystal fine Kosher salt. If using regular table salt, add half the amount or the recipe may be too salty!
• Two-stage baking process: We do this to ensure the sugar and thickener are evenly dispersed throughout the fruit layer, to avoid any clumping that can occur, and to achieve the perfect set:
  1. Bake half the fruit with the sugar and thickener to get the juices flowing and to get the thickener hydrated.
  2. Mix in the rest of the fruit and top with the crumble topping to finish baking.
• Serving suggestions: I love to serve warm fruit crumbles and crisps with plain vanilla ice cream, this cardamom ice cream or even this lemon custard ice cream, but you can also serve them with sweetened whipped cream or vanilla bean crème anglaise (custard sauce).
• Tip: Make this dessert the day before to give it ample time to set, then reheat it just before serving to warm it up!

Nutrition

Calories: 401kcal | Carbohydrates: 71g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 12g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 31mg | Sodium: 69mg | Potassium: 393mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 46g | Vitamin A: 488IU | Vitamin C: 11mg | Calcium: 116mg | Iron: 1mg

The post Rhubarb Crumble appeared first on The Bake School.

This mango crisp is a play on mango oatmeal: you bake a thick layer of mango below a crumble of oats, with just a little sugar and brown butter to bind it all together.

The brown butter makes the oat topping that much nuttier. I baked this recipe in a deep-dish, 7-inch round ramekin that is almost 3-inches deep. The recipe filled the dish to the rim, and made my apartment smell amazing. 

For those thinking they wouldn't like a breakfast crisp made with mangoes, it's actually quite lovely. The mango stays bright and fresh tasting. It's the perfect form of bribery and something to look forward to in the morning. If you like baking with mangoes, try this peach mango pie!

📖 Recipe

Print

Mango Oatmeal Crisp

This mango oatmeal crisp is made with lots of mangoes on the bottom and topped with an oat crumble for the perfect breakfast crisp.

Course Breakfast

Cuisine American

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 50 minutes minutes

Total Time 1 hour hour 5 minutes minutes

Servings 8

Calories 192kcal

Author Janice Lawandi

Ingredients

• 120 grams rolled oats (or large flake oats)
• 30 mL whole wheat all-purpose flour divided
• 50 grams sliced almonds
• 5 mL ground cinnamon
• 2.5 mL ground ginger
• 1.25 mL Diamond Crystal fine kosher salt
• 250 grams frozen chopped mango
• 1 lemon juiced
• 30 mL light brown sugar
• 30 mL honey
• 30 mL pure maple syrup
• 30 mL browned butter
• 15 mL whole wheat all-purpose flour

Metric - US

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 350°F (175 °C).
• In a medium bowl combine the oats, 2 tablespoon whole wheat flour, sliced almonds, cinnamon, ginger and salt. Set this aside.
• In another medium bowl, combine the remaining whole wheat flour with the mango and lemon juice. Set this aside.
• In a small bowl, stir together the brown sugar, honey, maple syrup, and the browned butter. Add this to the bowl containing the oat mixture and stir to thoroughly combine everything.
• Place the mango in the bottom of individual ramekins, or one giant ramekin, or an 8×8-inch square glass pan. Top with the oat mixture.
• Bake for about 50 minutes or until the topping begins to turn a deep, crispy golden brown and the fruits are sizzling hot (you’ll be able to hear the sizzle!).

Notes

• This recipe calls for Diamond Crystal fine Kosher salt. If using regular table salt, add half the amount or the recipe may be too salty!

Nutrition

Calories: 192kcal | Carbohydrates: 30g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 8mg | Sodium: 101mg | Potassium: 190mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 15g | Vitamin A: 426IU | Vitamin C: 19mg | Calcium: 42mg | Iron: 1mg

The post Mango oatmeal crisp appeared first on The Bake School.

When it comes to baking fruit desserts, cobblers are an important entry on the list.  Cobblers can be topped with either slabs or dollops of biscuit dough or a cake batter of sorts. Personally, I like a cake-y cobbler, and that is exactly what this is: a sweet batter is poured over a layer of melted butter and fresh blueberries and baked until the cake is tender and golden and the berries are bubbly and hot.

Cobbler reminds me of these rhubarb pudding cakes, which are cakes baked with a thick layer of rhubarb compote on the bottom.

I started with a recipe from Virginia Willis for blackberry cobbler, made in a seasoned cast iron skillet. Of course, I don't have one of those (one day, I hope...), so I baked the cobbler in individual white oven-safe pots. You could bake this recipe in 8 individual ceramic pots or one big 9-inch ceramic dish.

For the fruit filling, I made one major baking substitution: replacing the blackberries with Quebec blueberries. You could also replace the blackberries with your favourite berries, or even a mixture of berries. The thing to note is that blueberries are very high in pectin, so the blueberry filling, as it boils in the oven, will gel itself, without using any additional thickener. On the other hand, blackberries, raspberries, and strawberries are lower in pectin, so your cobbler will be more saucy on the bottom.

Another thing to note is that some berries are sweeter than others, so if your berries aren't sweet, you may want to sprinkle some sugar with them to balance the tartness of the berries. Local Quebec blueberries are usually very sweet and flavourful, so they actually don't need any extra sugar.

For the cobbler topping, traditionally either baking powder biscuit dough or a thick cake batter are used, so this recipe is the version with a cake batter. The batter is eggless and the main leavening agent here is baking powder. Other eggless recipes may depend on baking soda, depending on the other ingredients. This eggless banana bread calls for baking soda for the rise.

With all fruit desserts, especially a saucy cobbler or a double crust pie, it's extremely important to bake these desserts enough so that they are bubbling and hot, even in the middle where it takes longest for the heat to reach.

If you don't bake these types of dessert long enough, the fruit layer may be too wet, too soupy, or not set. This rhubarb lattice pie is a prime example of a dessert that takes a long time to bake. And for a dish like this blueberry rhubarb crisp, you may have to start baking the filling before adding the topping to give the filling extra time to heat up and cook down.

Cobbler is best served warm, with a dollop of whipped cream or ice cream. The sweet cream mixed with the warm cake and buttery baked blueberries is incredibly comforting. You can also serve it plain. It's up to you!

📖 Recipe

Print

Quebec Wild Blueberry Cobbler

This easy wild blueberry cobbler is made with a thick layer of wild blueberries and butter on the bottom, and topped with a layer of cake, baked until bubbly and hot.

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Prep Time 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time 45 minutes minutes

Total Time 1 hour hour 5 minutes minutes

Servings 8 pots

Calories 333kcal

Author Janice Lawandi

Equipment

• OXO balloon whisk
• Ramekins

Ingredients

• 750 grams fresh blueberries preferably local wild blueberry if you've got those in your area
• 125 grams bleached all-purpose flour
• 200 grams granulated sugar
• 10 mL baking powder
• 1.25 mL Diamond Crystal fine kosher salt
• 1 pinch ground nutmeg
• 250 mL whole milk (3.25 % fat)
• 5 mL pure vanilla extract
• 115 grams unsalted butter cubed

Metric - US

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 350°F.
• Carefully wash and pick through the blueberries (checking for twigs or rocks). Drain and pat them dry (I do this by pouring them over a towel lined baking sheet). Set aside.
• Whisk together all the dry ingredients in a medium bowl. Set aside
• Add the milk and vanilla and stir to form a thick batter. Set aside.
• Divide the butter between 8 ramekins (or one big 9-inch ceramic baking dish). Place the pan(s) in the oven for 7 or 8 minutes, or until the butter is completely melted and the pan is hot.
• Remove the pan(s) from the oven, and carefully pour the blueberries over the melted butter (½ cup per ramekin, or all in the bigger cake pan). Top with berry layer with the cake batter evenly.
• Return the pan(s) to the oven and let them bake until the cake is golden brown and baked through (check with a cake tester). The baked blueberries will bubble and release some juice. The individual ramekins take about 35 minutes, while the larger cake pan takes about 45 minutes.
• Remove the pan(s) from the oven, and let cool slightly before serving.

Nutrition

Calories: 333kcal | Carbohydrates: 53g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 13g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Cholesterol: 34mg | Sodium: 78mg | Potassium: 256mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 36g | Vitamin A: 460IU | Vitamin C: 9mg | Calcium: 101mg | Iron: 1mg

The post Easy wild blueberry cobbler appeared first on The Bake School.