In a recent post, we mentioned that Justin wasn’t a massive fan of fruit crumble – there was utter disbelief amongst some of our readers! We’ve talked through it over recent weeks – it’s good to get things out in the open. To be precise, he doesn’t like a soggy zone between the fruit & browned topping. The merest hint of uncooked, wet flour and there’s real distress.

Now we’ve identified the true cause of his phobia, we’ve been able to work through it together (with the help of a crumble counsellor) and have experimented with different methods. We don’t add any water to the fruit or pre-cook it any more – and top with thinner layers of crumble mix to produce crispy, crunchy perfection. There’s no stopping him now – strawberry, pear, plum – bring it on!

So, for this week’s Cakes & Bakes we’ve got a crumble – rhubarb, apple & cardamom crumble.

The cardamom adds a distinctive and really interesting twist…

…and chopped almonds in the topping also worked well.

So, the only decision left to make – custard, cream or ice cream. It was a custard kind of day for us!!

Second helpings for Justin – we really have moved forward from those dark, crumble-free years!

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Rhubarb, apple & cardamom crumble

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Course Dessert

Cuisine British

Servings 2

Ingredients

  

• 2 large stalks of rhubarb
• 1 Bramley apple
• 50 g/1¾oz demerara sugar
• 3 cardamom pods
• 100 g/3½oz plain flour
• 25 g/1oz rolled oats
• 10 g/⅓oz almonds roughly chopped
• 75 g/½oz cold butter cubed

Instructions

 

• Preheat the oven to 200ºC/400ºF/gas mark 6
• Remove the cardamom seeds from their husks and grind finely with a pestle & mortar
• Slice the rhubarb into 2½cm/1inch slices
• Peel, core & chop the apple into 1cm/⅓ cubes
• Put the rhubarb, apple, half the ground cardamom and 2tbs of the sugar into a medium-sized bowl and mix until the sugar coats the fruit evenly
• Decant the mixture into a 30cm x 15cm oven-proof dish
• In a medium-sized bowl, add the flour, oats, sugar, chopped almonds, butter and remainder of the cardamom. Rub in the ingredients with your fingers until they resemble coarse, lumpy breadcrumbs
• Cover the sugared fruit evenly with the crumble mixture
• Cook for 20-30 minutes until the top has begun to brown and fruity syrup is bubbling up
• Allow to cool slightly and serve with custard or vanilla ice cream

Keyword apple, cardamom, crumble, fruit crumble, rhubarb