Strawberry and Almond Crumble

Strawberry and Almond Crumble

 

INGREDIENTS

Yields  6-10

1 pound strawberries, hulled
1/4 cup caster sugar
1/4 cup almond meal/flour
4 teaspoons vanilla extract
For the topping:
Heaping 2/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
5 tablespoons cold butter, diced
1 1/4 cup sliced almonds
Scant 1/2 cup turbinado sugar
Heavy cream, to serve
1 ovenproof pie dish approximately 8-inches diameter by 2-inches deep (approximately 1 1/4 quarts capacity)

Directions for the Strawberry and Almond Crumble

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Put the hulled strawberries into your pie dish (I use a round one) and sprinkle over them the sugar, almond meal, and vanilla extract. Give the dish a good shake or two to mix the ingredients.

Now for the crumble topping: put the flour and baking powder in a mixing bowl and rub in the cold, diced butter between thumb and fingers (or in a free standing mixer).When you’ve finished with it, it should resemble rough, pale oatmeal. Stir in the sliced almonds and turbinado sugar with a fork.

Tip this over the strawberry mixture, covering the strawberries in an even layer and giving a bit of a press in at the edges of the dish. Set the dish on a cookie sheet and bake in the oven for 30 minutes, by which time the crumble topping will have darkened to a pale gold and some pink-red juices will be seeping and bubbling out at the edges.

Let stand for 10 minutes before serving, and be sure to put a pitcher of chilled heavy cream on the table alongside.

Make Ahead Note: The crumble can be assembled 1 day ahead. Cover with plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator until needed. Bake as directed in recipe, but allowing extra 5 to 10 minutes cooking time and check crumble is piping hot in the centre.

Freeze Note: Crumble topping can be made and frozen in resealable plastic bags, for up to 3 months. Sprinkle topping direct from freezer over fruit, breaking up large lumps with your hands. The assembled but unbaked crumble can be frozen, wrapped in a double layer of plastic wrap and a layer of aluminum foil, for up to 3 months. Defrost for 24 hours in fridge and bake as above.

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