Apple, rhubarb & raspberry crumble

There are a lot of things that were simply meant to be together; chocolate and peanut butter, hot weather and popsicles, Buffy and Angel... And then there's my favourite symbiotic pair; rainy days and baking.

When all the birds hide under leafy canopy's and the rain splashes against every window pain and roof tile, creating pools of rippling water beneath my door step I roll up my sleeves and reach for my apron; it's Bakin' Time.

Apple, rhubarb & raspberry crumble
from Mindfood magazine
serves 6

4 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and thickly sliced
½ cup caster sugar
1 cinnamon stick
1 bunch rhubarb, trimmed, cut into 3cm pieces
125g fresh or frozen raspberries
¾ cup crumbled amaretto biscuits
½ cup plain flour
1/3 cup natural almonds, roughly chopped
½ cup brown sugar
¼ tsp ground cinnamon
125g butter, cubed and chilled


Preheat oven to 180C. Lightly grease a 5-cup-capacity ovenproof baking dish (or 4 dishes with ¼ cup capacity each).

Put apple, caster sugar, cinnamon stick and ¼ cup water in a large saucepan over medium heat. Bring to the boil, reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Drain apple. Discard cinnamon stick. Transfer to a large bowl to cool. Combine rhubarb and raspberries with cooled apple. Spoon into baking dish.

Put biscuit, flour, almonds, brown sugar and cinnamon in a large bowl. Using fingertips, rub butter into mixture. Sprinkle crumble mixture over fruit. Bake for 20–25 minutes or until crumble is golden.

Serve with cream or ice-cream.

ease: 4/5.
prep time: 20mins.
cooking time: 20mins.
total: 40mins.

taste: 3.5/5. The three Musketeers of the fruit world!


First to tickle the tastebuds is the politely sweet tang of the rhubarb followed by the homely apple, all comfort and hugs. While these two are getting to know each other raspberry knocks on the door with its vibrant tartness before the sweet, nutty and almond-y crumble comes in.

Needless to say, I enjoyed the combination of the three fruits together, if you prefer a little less tartness than perhaps substituting the rhubarb with strawberries would be lovely. The crumble on the other hand, was ok, but the amaretto biscuits added a flavour I don't like in a crumble topping, a regular oat and brown sugar topping would suit this better. It also needs a little more cinnamon for warmth.

would I make it again: Yes to the fruit combo, no to the crumble topping.

recipe: Apple, rhubarb & raspberry crumble

Warm apple crunch crumble with honey pepper yoghurt

There has been a lot of finger tapping and leg twitching. Perhaps a touch of pacing as well.
You see, I arrived home on Monday, and after the obligatory immediate unpacking and settling in, I was eager to dust off my blogs. Unfortunately, the eagerness only resulted in the hovering of my fingers above the keyboard, unable to decide which letter to press first. I hovered for a good portion of four days waiting for the Inspiration Fairy to come and sprinkled her dust and send my brain into a frenzy of creativity, but all I got was hand cramps. And then I thought, well, you have quite a few posts backed up, waiting only for text, why not post something to give you a little more time until your brain switches itself back on. And so this is my filler post. Never fear, I expect the Inspiration Fairy's flight shall be touching down very soon indeed...

ease: 5/5.
prep time: 20mins.
cooking time: 15mins.
total: 35mins.

taste: 2.5/5. Very perplexing.

I am trying to form words of what this tasted like to me but I've got nothing. It wasn't unpleasant but it wasn't really pleasant either. I could taste each of the inidivdual components without really enjoying them. Instead of melding together and forming a delicious synergy they fell apart and stood around, not really doing anything like a room full of very awkward strangers.


would I make it again: No. But perhaps my taste buds just didn't get it, yours might.


recipe:  Warm apple crunch crumble with honey pepper yoghurt

Strawberry-rhubarb crisps with cardamom & nutmeg

It wasn't long before the concrete buildings became forests of matchstick trees, their long slender trunks growing on either side of the steep curved roads. The sunlight would flicker through them like an old slide-show projector, mesmerising us with its morse-code light. The longer we drove the more the trees outnumbered the man-made buildings until finally we came to the sign we were looking for: Grants picnic ground in Sherbroke forest.

Excitement filled my bones, as what lay ahead was something I have always wanted to do, and in fact, it was #14 on my life list. The anticipation rose as I caught glimpses of white through the window as we pulled into the parking lot, the gravel crunching beneath the slick rubber tires.

Opening the car doors we heard them; a concert of bird calls, each chirp melding with another - I began to smile.

We skipped into the shop to purchase five packets of seeds and made our way out onto the picnic grounds. The birds were everywhere and none too shy. The large white cockatoos with their fluorescent yellow mohawks are the first to greet us, flapping their large wings as they landed on our shoulders, or as some of the more cunning ones did, climbed our legs like ladders to get to our pockets, where the seed packets were. We were warned to keep a firm grip on the paper packets as the cockatoos will grab them at the first chance to fly away and greedily consume their meal in privacy.

The next bird to wander over was the shy gallah, pretty with their soft muted grey feathers splashed with flamingo pink chests. They fed from our hands, but only on ground level. Some mistook our fingers for seeds though as we were rewarded with a sharp nip. Thankfully their beaks did not pierce our skin.

And then there were the beautiful rosellas - all flame and brilliance with their crimson bodies and indigo feathers, some tinged with jade edges. They were the gentlest and the most fun to feed due to their small size. As they were intimidated by the cockatoos we had to go beneath the trees so they could jump onto our palms without being bothered by the larger birds. Their tiny claws wrapped around our fingers as they softly flicked the seeds into their mouth with their tiny tongue, stopping to look up at us every now and then. They ate with the grace of a ballerina. R was lucky enough to have two eating from his hands at once. Later on he found  himself with three large cockatoos perched on his shoulders and arms, rather like a modern pirate.

We spent a few hours there, stopping to eat some lunch before returning to the birds. Once our pockets had emptied we opted to walk along one of the forest walks, spying a kookaburra perched on a sign as we wound our way though the trees. It was a lovely day.

Arriving home, I refilled the bird feeders on my back porch as the rainbow lorikeets were already waiting patiently in the tree for their lunch. I hope one day they like me enough to come and sit on my shoulder. In the meantime, I am happy to simply watch them through my kitchen window as I stir and knead and bake. Should I ever want to hold a bird in my hand again, I know where to go.

I have re-written the recipe with my adaptations, the original is linked below.

Strawberry-rhubarb crisps with cardamom & nutmeg
serves 4


Topping

• 1/2 cup old-fashioned oats
• 1/2 cup all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
• 1/3 cup sliced almonds
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• Generous pinch of salt
• 85g tablespoons chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

Filling

• 450g 1/2-inch-thick slices fresh rhubarb
• 2 cups halved strawberries
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon grated orange peel
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

• Sweetened whipped cream

For topping:
Mix first 6 ingredients in medium bowl. Add butter; rub in with fingertips until moist clumps form. 

For filling:
Preheat oven to 180C. Butter six 1 1/2-cup baking dishes/ramekins. Combine all ingredients except whipped cream in large bowl; stir to blend. Let stand until juices form, about 15 minutes.

Divide rhubarb mixture among prepared custard cups. Sprinkle topping evenly over mixture in each. Bake until topping is golden brown and crisp and filling is bubbling thickly around edges, about 25 minutes. Serve warm with sweetened whipped cream.

ease: 4.5/5.
prep time: 22mins.
cooking time: 25mins for four mini 1.5 cup dishes.
total: 47mins.

taste: 4.5/5. What crisps strive to be.

The crisp begins with the cardamom, like the opening sentence of a novel it piques your interest. The cerise rhubarb follows with its soft rounded tartness as it embraces the sweetheart sweetness of the strawberry. The vanilla almonds and chunky topping adds textural diversity and wraps the juicy fruits up with its caramel-salty-twine. Lastly, is the orange rind with its fragrant bitter full stop. And there you have it, a complete and perfect story with a beginning, middle and end. Each component works wonderfully with the next creating a marvellous balance of sweet, tart and saltiness.

R didn't enjoy this as much but I found it to be my perfect fruit crumble (or crisp).

would I make it again: Yes with the modifications I made.

original recipe: Strawberry-Rhubarb Crisps with Cardamom and Nutmeg

Apple, pear & vanilla crumble with ginger cinnamon topping

". . . nothing contributes so much to tranquillize the mind as a steady purpose . . ."

Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

As a child, the creature created from quilted dead flesh by Dr Frankenstein never truly scared me. If anything, I felt sympathy for the creature who did not ask to be given life and who was abandoned by a society that deemed him monstrous as they did not understand him. The novel and film did however, spark an interest in the science fiction genre.

History aside, I have begun my post with a brief explanation of the origin of the fictional character many refer to as Frankenstein, as it is a term I use when I have 'pieced something together' (not when I have created something that will ultimately self destruct and kill me'.)

There are times when a recipe as a whole is disappointing, but when dissected into parts, I find bits and pieces that I love. I recently made this Deep-dish apple, pear and vanilla pies with crisp sage which as a whole, I did not care for. As it turns out, I was left with an abundance of the pie filling and thought perhaps I might rework it into a crumble and possibly yield a tastier result.

With a single purpose in mind, I serenely threw a bunch of ingredients together for the crumble and have written it out below.


Crumble topping

• 2/3 cup plain flour
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• dash of ground cloves
  
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup (45g) rolled oats
• 125g unsalted butter, chilled
• 1 tbs of whole hazelnuts

Mix dry ingredients together. Chop butter and toss into bowl, mix butter and dry ingredients together with fingertips until clumps have formed.

I preheated the oven to 190C and placed the left over apples and pears (perhaps 2 pears, 4 apples worth) from the Gourmet Traveller recipe into a glass dish and sprinkled the topping over it. I baked it for 20mins.

ease: 4.5/5. Lots of chopping for filling.
prep time: 30mins (I'm a slow peeler and dicer)
cooking time: 20mins.
total: 50mins.

taste: 4/5. The filling came to life when paired with the heady, warming spices. Hubby would have preferred a little less brown sugar as he doesn't like anything close to caramel in flavour. I would add another 1/4cup of oats as I love their chewiness. I poured in the syrupy juices that accumulated in the bowl from the fruit overnight, probably would leave that out next time as it made it a little too syrupy.

would I make it again: Yes - more oats and no fruit syrup next time.

Pear & chocolate crumble

I pull my woollen cardigan tighter around my shoulders as I plaster cream cheese unto my blueberry bagel. My dog comes in from him morning routine and shakes his body like a tumble dryer drum, spraying the room with a mist of water. I grab a towel and dry him off, leaning over to close the door as the icy breeze numbs my toes and chills my ribs.

The temperature slowly descends through the weeks, preparing us for Winter's bitter embrace. I notice the birds who come to collect the seeds have puffed up their feathers; they too have their winter coats on. I find myself craving chocolate once again - its richness and voluptuous quality wraps itself around me like a warm, cashmere blanket. In the evenings I love to interlock my fingers around a mug of hot chocolate, bringing life to my fingertips and tongue.

This afternoon I had another craving visit, too early to languidly sip its melted form, I wanted something I could sink my teeth into and also cradle in my lap. This crumble looks lusciously inviting, and is quick to make.


ease: 5/5.
prep time: 12mins.
cooking time: 15mins.
total: 27mins.

taste: 4/5. The chocolate barely covered the pears and although it spread after cooking there wasn't enough chocolate for me, so I would double the amount next time.
The crumble was also a little floury and bland - I would definietely add more butter and brown sugar next time.
The flavours were lovely, the only alteration I made was to use half milk, half dark chocolate on the behest of my husband - I wish I had used dark only though as it was a little weak for me.

would I make it again: Yes - it was really quick and easy, just needs a few tweaks to suit my tastebuds.

recipe: Pear and Chocolate Crumble

Apple crumble

An apple a day keeps the doctor away...

As a child, apples were not a fruit I enjoyed eating. They were in fact the fruit I dreaded seeing most upon opening my small cobalt plastic lunch box; too cumbersome to eat and plain boring. In an effort to make the apple more appealing my mother would tell me that famous saying, as she knew of my aversion to doctors she thought it might work. It didn't.

As an adult I occasionally began to grasp for the apple nestled in amongst the food tray. I always wondered though why the apple was chosen as the advocate for health. I would think the strawberry more appropriate, they have more Vitamin C than apples and not only do they help to reduce plaque, supposedly they also help to whiten teeth. Strawberries are also well liked by children, more so than apples, so perhaps the strawberry should be the new doctor-deterring fruit.


Ramblings aside, apples have been welcomed back into my diet with arms wide open, with bouquets of flowers and towering masses of blimp-like foil balloons. I would attribute their return on account of my burgeoning interest in cooking. In raw form, I may reach for another fruit instead of the apple, but when choosing one to cook, the apple would always be picked first. There is just something so safe and comforting about apples, like being wrapped in a blanket by your grandmother whilst she makes a fire to toast marshmallows in her cosy living room. With each mouthful I am filled with warmth, and a familiar sense of fuzzy serenity.

If I were only allowed to make one apple dish, it would be chosen due to its flavour, ease and ability to comfort as well as it being something I would want seconds of. With those standards to meet, hands down it would have to be the humble but timeless Apple Crumble. This particular apple crumble was the first made-from-scratch dessert I attempted. And although I have flirted with a few other recipes I have kept returning to this one for its simplicity, ease and deliciousness. I'm sure almost everyone has an apple crumble dish they make time and time again.

I am not a fan of pairing something cold, such as ice cream, with something hot - it is jarring to my system. I prefer dollops of pure double cream, sometimes if I feel decadent enough, clotted cream.


ease: 5/5.
prep time: 23mins. I am not gifted in the art of peeling, it takes me a while.
cooking time: 50mins.
total: 1hour & 13mins.

taste: 4.5/5. Sweet, cozy satisfaction. The sweet, crunchy and almost chewy crumble gives way to tender, tart apples spiced with cinnamon and hints of nutmeg and peppery cloves. The sweetness, tartness and spiciness meld warmly in your mouth and leave you wanting to forgo the plate and help yourself to the baking dish, cleanly licked spoon gripped tightly in your hand. This is by no means a complex or beautiful dish, it is just pure home-style crumble that satisfies.

I cut my apples according to the instructions this time around, and they didn't reach that oozy on-the-brink-of-liquefaction stage that creates a sticky, syrup like sauce which I love. This was probablt on account of them being a little too thick so they didn't get to that almost transparent stage. I would recommend slicing each half into 8 slices rather than 6 - 16 slices for a whole apple.

I also cut down the butter to around 200g.

I find that this dish lacks spicing as written so I always use 11/2tsp cinnamon, 1/2tsp nutmeg, and 1/4-1/2tsp ground cloves which is still subtle but noticeable.

would I make it again: Yes - I think this is the sixth time I have made it, it shall be in my repertoire for years to come.

recipe: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Apple-Crumble-and-Vanilla-Ice-Cream-108716

Blueberry, nectarine & peach crisp

It's amazing how large the bounty of gifted fruits are in Summer - this is the only season where I am bombarded with plastic bags filled with picked plums, apricots, nectarines and peaches from family members. I'm not sure why they chose me as the one in need of all the fruit but somehow it all comes my way.

With the hot weather the fruits began to quickly languish in their fruit bowl, I managed to rescue some from an early fate by placing them in the fridge, but only a few spots were available. The rest I would have to quickly make into summer sweets before they expired.

The sugar plums were salvaged first. Today I wanted to save the 2 peaches and sadly withered 3 nectarines. After searching on Tastespotting, Foodgawker, Taste & Gourmet Traveler I found a recipe for a crisp (not too similar to my sugarplum crumble) that seemed suitable as I also happened to have some frozen blueberries hiding in my freezer. Tomorrow, it's the apricot's turn.

ease: 5/5. prep time: 17mins - I tore apart the nectarines and peaches as I didn't want to use their skins and my knives are on the dull side.
cooking time: 35mins.
total: 52mins.

taste: 5/5. I love this much more than the sugar plum crumble! Absolutely delicious! Next time I would use just peaches and blueberries as the nectarines were a bit tart. I modified the recipe as follows: I used 1 cup of frozen blueberries, 2 peaches and 3 nectarines; I used two tbs of cornflour. I would add a little more blueberries next time as I wanted more. The pecans were really lovely in the topping, it was still crumbly but nice - might up the spices next time also.

would I make it again: Yes.

recipe: http://half-bakedbaker.blogspot.com/2008/06/blueberry-nectarine-crisp-and-award.html

Sugar plum crumble

Years ago, when I still believed in Santa and wore pink tutus, I had a tiny porcelain baby (also in a pink tutu) with alabaster skin and sandy hair. She was my favourite baby doll; her name was Sugarplum. I would read bed time stories to her, feed her milk and tuck her in next to me while I slept. And after 4 years (until I was around 6) she was still in one piece.

So I make this crumble in remembrance of her and of all the wonderful times I had in my childhood playing make-believe.

ease: 4/5. prep time: 10mins.
cooking time: 25mins.
total: 35mins. Only 10mins hands on time with little clean up, can't beat that.

taste: 4/5. I found this really lovely. I thought perhaps the spices wouldn't come through but they do and they work wonderfully with the plums, really gorgeous flavours. The crumble was a little crumblier than I would have liked - might use less flour next time. Some found the plums tart but I think they worked well with the crumble and spices. Not a super sweet dessert.

would I make it again: No. Only because my partner thinks plums are too tart, otherwise I definitely would have.

recipe: http://www.cuisine.com.au/recipe/Sugar-plum-crumble

Breakfast apricot crisp

It is 30C and gloriously sunny outside; and I am indoors folding laundry. My partner however, is down at the beach with friends. I'm not sure if you could tell from those two sentences, but I am none too happy about being un-invited from the aforementioned beach trip, especially since I have not been to a beach since our trip to Hawaii 1year & 7months ago. After venting to my dad about my partner's missing 'consideration' gene I decided to cheer myself up. And no, doing laundry was not how I did it. I decided to do some baking; as it is Summer I thought Summer fruits would be most appropriate.


I didn't always like apricots. My yia yia (grandmother) had an apricot tree so we were given lots of fresh apricots to eat as kids. I found the apricots to have a weird sourness, that especially when dried, would fill my mouth with that 'just about to vomit' saliva, not very pleasant. As an adult I have gone back to vegetables and fruits that I disliked as a child and have tried them again. This year I thought I'd give apricots another try. I still do not like them dried, but fresh I can handle. However, I thought perhaps if I cooked them, and sweetened them then perhaps I would like them even more. We shall never be best friends, but they may make their way into my basket every now and again.

ease: 5/5.
prep time: 6mins to get everything into the baking dish - my oven took a little longer to actually heat to temperature.
cooking time: 20mins.
total: 26mins.

taste: 4/5. I used 1/2tsp of nutmeg which I am glad I did as it needs the spice. I used 5tbs of sugar in the crumble but I think I will use the full 6 next time. The apricots were still tart but the crumble balanced them out. I ate mine still warm with yoghurt so I wonder if they will be even nicer tomorrow as said in the blog.
would I make it again: Yes - super easy. Next time I have apricots I will definitely make this.

recipe: http://smittenkitchen.com/2008/06/breakfast-apricot-crisp/

Honey-baked pear breakfast crumble

Saturday morning breakfast time! (Well 11pm would make it more a brunch thing). Although I usually reserve the big brekky's for Sunday I thought I'd make it today instead. I got ready to make it and realised I did not have the mandarin juice - so I substituted by adding extra lemon juice, which may have changed the taste of the recipe.

EASE: 3/5. Middle of the road - crumble was fairly easy, but the pears were a little bit of a pain in the ass.
Prep time: 12mins. Preparing the pears and getting all the ingredients ready is time consuming.
Cooking time: 40mins. The pear syrup takes around 25mins - mine didn't work as written, I was a little too cautious so I kept the heat low and ended up with a liquid rather than a syrup. The crumble only takes around 6mins to nuke the butter and brown the bread before tossing together (which is done while the syrup is on). And it took around 15mins to brown and crisp in the oven.
TOTAL: 52mins. Almost an hour - and you have to let it cool a bit before eating.

TASTE: 4/5. Very sweet, I imagine it would be sweeter with mandarin juice rather than lemon. Mine was more soupy rather than syrupy, but it still tasted great. I used organic Australian Rainforest honey - I originally wanted to use orange blossom honey as I thought it would compliment the pear better (but I accidentally dropped it). The crumble is not as crunchy and hard as most crumbles. I doubted the use of bread and therefore used only 40grams and increased the oats to 70g. The bread however was quite nice. I used an organic wholemeal sourdough. If you like a more generous coating of crumble double the amounts as it is quite a sparse covering. It is nicer served with yoghurt as you need something to cut through the sweetness.

Would I make again: No. A little too sweet for me and I do prefer apples to pears when used in a crumble. But I would recommend it. Perhaps more as a dessert than a breakfast.

Recipe: http://gourmettraveller.com.au/honeybaked_pear_breakfast_crumble.htm