Last updated on November 28th, 2021 at 08:38 am
I love fruit crumble – an apple + blackberry crumble can be made as a wonderful gluten free dessert for a cold fall or winter meal with the family, or a peach crumble, or plum crumble. I love fruit crumbles!
A fruit crumble can be made any time of year, in summer I like to use seasonal fruits where possible, so in summer I can make a peach crumble when the Palisade Peaches are available, and if I crave a fruit that’s not in season, like berries – a berry crumble can be made with a good quality berry mix from the freezer aisle any time of year.
We serve our gluten free crumbles with either whipped cream, vanilla ice-cream, or Bird’s custard and it’s a nice way to round out your family meal with a dessert that the whole family loves.
Our challenge has been that we have family members who are medically gluten free – and a crumble is basically flour + fat + sugar on top of your fruit mix. So – how do we make a Gluten Free Crumble?
We start with a good quality baking mix, and our choice is Pamela’s Gluten Free Pancake + Baking Mix. I buy it so often, that I maintain this blog page with the prices so we know which is the best size to buy for value for money!
So how do we make a crumble mix? It’s so easy – I start with cold butter – cut into tiny cubes – once I cut it up, I’ll put it in the fridge again to harden up – then I crumb it in…
Gluten Free Fruit Crumble Recipe
Ingredients
For the filling:
6 to 7 cups fruit, enough to almost fill pan
1/2 to 1 cup sugar, depending on the sweetness of the fruit
1 to 3 teaspoons lemon juice, to taste
1 to 3 tablespoons cornstarch, depending on juiciness of fruit
1 teaspoon spice, like cinnamon, ginger, or nutmeg (optional – use less if you like)
For the crumble topping:
1 cup (5 ounces) Pamela’s Pancake + Baking Mix
1/2 cup (4 ounces) brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon (optional – I do not use cinnamon myself – but the base recipe has it)
1/4 teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons (4 ounces) unsalted butter, chilled – some recipes call for warm butter – I prefer it cold
Instructions
- Heat oven to 375°F.
- Prepare the fruit filling: Dice any large fruit into bite-sized pieces, removing any stems, large pips or seeds, and any inedible parts. Toss the fruit with sugar, lemon juice, cornstarch, and any spices (many Americans like cinnamon with apple – I don’t).
Use more sugar and less lemon juice when cooking with tart fruits, like rhubarb and blackberries, and less sugar but more lemon juice for sweet fruits, like peaches and plums. Best is to taste a piece of fruit and adjust to taste. Use some more cornstarch with very juicy fruits like plums and less with firm fruits like apples. But don’t stress about it too much; no matter your ratio of these ingredients, your crumble will be delicious. If the dish is a little ‘loose’, add more cornstarch next time!
- Pour the fruit filling into the baking dish.
- Prepare the crumble topping: Whisk together the Pamela’s Pancake + Baking mix, salt and sugar, for the crumble topping. Toss in your tiny cubes of butter into the dry ingredients. Using your fingers, a fork, or a pastry cutter, work the butter into the dry ingredients until large heavy crumbs are formed. You do NOT need to make small uniform crumbs – it’s just not important!
- Scatter and spread the crumble over the fruit: Pour the crumble topping evenly over the fruit base.
- Bake the crumble dish: Bake the crumble for 30 to 35 minutes until the fruit juices are bubbling around the edges of the pan and the topping is firm to the touch. If your crumble is still ‘crumbs’ – you may not have used enough butter.
- Cool and store the crumble: Let the crumble cool for at least 15 minutes before serving. This is important to let the dessert ‘set’ – it’s much better this way! If you are taking the dessert to a picnic or party, let the crumble cool completely to give the fruit filling time to set up. Crumbles will keep if covered and refrigerated, for up to a week. Serve cold, room temperature, or re-warmed in a low oven for 20 minutes. Adding whipped cream, custard or ice-cream and this is a dessert that is tasty and delicious!
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(as of December 20, 2024 11:45 GMT -07:00 - More infoProduct prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.)Additional Notes + Variations:
- Using a 9×13-inch pan: Increase the fruit to 10 to 11 cups, adjusting the other filling ingredients to match. Increase all the crumble topping ingredients by half (1 1/2 cups flour, etc.).
- To make a fruit crisp: Add 1/2 cup of old-fashioned rolled oats or 1/2 cup chopped nuts (or both) to the topping.
- To make a fruit cobbler: Instead of crumbs, you want a ‘biscuit’ – press the crumbs into biscuit-sized patties and arrange them in a single layer over the fruit with gaps in between.