Apple, Pear and Almond Crumble | Gluten Free

Long winter evenings call for cosy desserts. Grab a bowl of my gluten free Apple, Pear and Almond Crumble and snuggle up somewhere comfy for the long night ahead. Winter is here, and the forecast is sweet. I love fruit crumbles, especially in winter. Seasonal fruit roasted in its own juices and a touch of spice until the pieces melt into sweetness, and on top a crispy-edged, biscuit-like topping featuring crunchy roasted almonds and warming almond meal. I love the double almond flavour hit in this crumble topping!

Almonds have secret super powers too that boost the healthy aspect of this crumble! Almonds are super healthy for your heart, with high levels of monounsaturated fats (the good kind of fat), and very high levels of Vitamin E. Vitamin E is important for protecting your heart and blood vessels, and improves skin quality. I love eating almonds as an easy snack, or using them as a topping on my favourite salads. This crumble starts with a base of pears and apples mixed with cinnamon, cardamom, a hint of vanilla and a touch of brown sugar. You tumble the spiced fruit into a baking dish and then whip up the crumble topping. I used quinoa flakes, almond meal, brown sugar, and more cinnamon and cardamom. Quinoa flakes replace the traditional oats to ensure this crumble is entirely gluten free, but all the other classic elements are here: brown sugar, spice, and a touch of butter. This is the simplest crumble topping, but it bakes up into an almost cookie-like crust atop the bubbling, sweet spiced fruit. Mmmm. Crispy cookie crumble…..Crumbles are the cosiest of winter desserts, and this one is healthy enough to pass for breakfast too. For dessert I topped it with vanilla ice cream which melted down amongst the stewed fruit and mingled with the thickened spiced fruit juices. For breakfast the next morning I topped leftovers with a generous dollop of thick Greek yoghurt. It was enough to fuel me through a day of shopping for a microwave, towels, and frying pans for the new house. Shopping is much more pleasant when you have a belly full of Apple, Pear and Almond Crumble.

There is really nothing complicated about making a crumble, and they are perfect for a family dinner dessert, or even a dinner party. Everyone loves a warm bowl of apple crumble topped with a spoon of cool creamy vanilla ice cream. If you are searching for a cosy winter treat for your family, you can’t go wrong with warm fruit and crispy cookie topping. This Apple, Pear and Almond Crumble ticks all of my boxes for winter dessert: easy to make, filled with spice, hearty, and soul-warming. Trust me, this crumble is sure to become a family favourite in your house too. 

Apple, Pear, and Almond Crumble

Gluten Free | Serves 6-8 | Leftovers keep up to two days in the refrigerator, covered tightly with plastic wrap

Ingredients

For the fruit

• 2 large pears
• 3 large apples
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon cornflour (ensure this is gluten free)
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon cardamom
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• Juice of 1 lemon

For the crumble topping

• 1 cup quinoa flakes
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup almond meal
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon cardamom
• 1/4 cup butter (60 grams), melted
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup almonds, chopped

Method

1. Preheat your oven to 180C (350F) and get an 8 x 6 (around 8 cup) casserole or baking dish ready.
2. Core and chop fruit into a large dice. I kept the skin on mine for extra fibre and flavour.
3. Place fruit into a large saucepan along with brown sugar, cornflour, cinnamon and cardamom. Stir to ensure the fruit is coated in the cornflour mixture.
4. Add vanilla and lemon juice and place over a low heat. Stir constantly until the sugar is melted and the juices have thickened slightly.
5. Tumble fruit mixture and all the juices into the prepared casserole dish and allow to cool while you prepare the crumble topping.
6. Whisk together quinoa flakes, almond meal, salt, cinnamon and cardamom. Stir in melted butter and egg until the crumble comes together.
7. Crumble topping over fruit and then top with chopped almonds.
8. Bake for 40-50 minutes or until the topping is golden and the fruit feels soft when probed with a metal skewer.
9. Remove crumble from the oven, allow to stand for 10 minutes and then serve topped with ice cream or Greek yoghurt, if desired.

This post was inspired by my new-found friends at Nuts.com . We were  talking about how much we love almonds, and how they can help to boost your health – Nuts.com even has a “health benefits of almonds project” on right now! We want everyone to be as excited about almonds as we are! As you can tell, I am nuts for almonds, and Nuts.com have a great range of almonds and almond products (I’m especially looking forward to some of their dark chocolate coated almonds for a quick dessert option). Please note: I was not compensated for this post by Nuts.com at all. I am merely speaking about my love of almonds and sharing my discovery of this new website with all of you!