I’ve been holding on to this mixed berry crumble recipe for a few months now, as I first developed it at the tail end of last summer, but was fearful the seasonal police would have at me if I shared it when berries were not at their peak. But here’s the thing: not only do I still have copious amounts of frozen berries that I harvested last summer, but I LOVE berry crumble — like a lot.
Therefore, I thought I would risk the wrath of the above-mentioned police, go ahead and make myself a crumble (an oat-free one, BTW, as I love the taste, as well as texture, of a crumb made from just butter and flour), using some of my frozen berries, and (finally) share the recipe. I kind of love berry crumble more than maybe even berry pie. I know this may not go over well with the pie-lovers in the audience, but hear me out.
The fact that I love the buttery sugary yumminess of a crumb just a bit more than a bite of the flakiest pie crust is a result — I’m not ashamed to admit — of my boundless sweet tooth. For instance, for me, pies NEED ice cream to bring the sweetness factor and the moisture factor to the proper levels — a pie is a tad too dry and not quite sweet enough without it. (IN MY OPINION. I get it that you might not agree)
So, for me the crumble is the perfect vehicle to get slightly sweetened cooked fruit into your body, as the crumb provides all the sugary bliss you could ever need. And do I like it with ice cream? Of course. But does it need ice cream? Um, no. A splash of heavy cream is all that’s required — if that. Finally, putting together a crumble takes all of about 15 minutes, and I’m awfully fond of speedily made treats. Please don’t tell the slow-food police, though, I’m already in enough trouble.
Big Crumb Mixed Berry Crumble
Ingredients
For the crumble
- 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup plus 2 Tbsp granulated sugar
- 1 tsp table salt
- 1 1/4 tsp baking powder
- 10 Tbs unsalted butter cold, diced into small pieces
For the fruit filling
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 3 Tbsp arrow root powder my preferred thickener
- 1/4 tsp table salt
- 6 cups mixed berries fresh or frozen, though fresh are preferable, as frozen ones make for a soupy crumble
- 2 Tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
- Heavy cream for serving
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375-degrees.
To make the Crumble
- In a medium bowl, whisk all of the dry ingredients together. Add the butter and using your hands, smoosh the butter into the dry ingredients, until clumpy. Place in the freezer until ready to use.
To make the fruit filling
- Whisk the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Add the berries and lemon juice and toss to combine. Place in an 8x8-inch pan, sprayed with non-stick cooking spray or smeared with softened butter. Crumble the crumb topping over the berries, leaving some crumbs quite large and others smaller.
- Bake for 30 minutes, rotating at the halfway point, until the berry juices are bubbling and the crumb is nicely browned. Let sit until warm or room temperature and serve with dribbles of heavy cream.
