In this recipe, the normal pastry or biscuit topping is replaced with crumble topping. When trying to occupy children when the weather is bad, this is a simple way of entertaining them making a dessert that will vanish in moments.
Crumble is a hands-on recipe without a lot of mess because all you need is a large bowl and your finger. Essentially, it is very sweet pastry dough, unmoistened so that it retains its crumbly texture.
The recipe costs around $2.50 to make with a large (30oz / 850g) can of fruit. You can use more or less fruit or pie filling as you wish. The amount of fruit will not affect the crumble topping.
How to make crumble topping
1 ½ cups (6oz / 170g) of flour
¾ cup (6oz / 170g) of sugar (or 18 sachets of sweetener)
6 tbsp (4oz / 110g) of margarine or soft butter
½ teaspoon of cinnamon
¼ teaspoon of ginger (optional)
Mix the flour, sugar and spices together in a large mixing bowl.
Cut the fat into small dice for ease of handling.
Dust your children’s fingers with flour and have them rub the flour mixture and the fat together with their fingertips until the flour and fat are fully mixed together with no large clumps and the mixture looks like breadcrumbs.
Up to two children can be occupied in this if the bowl is wide enough. It is fun for them to watch the breadcrumbs form and only takes a couple of moments.
The recipe provides ample topping for an 8 x 8” (20 x 20cm) glass casserole and costs less than $0.70. Any leftover crumble can be stored, covered in the fridge for another occasion. Other flavoring such as mace or nutmeg can also be used. For an even crunchier topping, add a few chopped nuts to the mix.
Crumble-topped fruit cobbler
For 8 servings
1 large (30oz / 850g) can of fruit (pears, peaches, etc.) or 1 – 1 ½ cans of fruit pie filling
1 crumble topping recipe (see above)
Spices (optional, according to the fruit)
First, set the oven to heat to 450°F (230°C) and prepare the crumble topping as above.
If using canned fruit, drain the fruit (keep the juice or syrup for other use). If using pear or peach halves or large whole fruit, cut the fruit up into slices or small chunks.
When the oven has heated, arrange the fruit or pie filling over the base of an 8 x 8” (20 x 20cm) glass casserole dish and sprinkle over any spices you wish (e.g. cinnamon with pears, ginger with peaches, ginger and additional sugar for rhubarb, etc.).
Top the dish with the crumble topping, spreading the topping to the edges.
Bake for 15 minutes at 450°F (230°C) then turn the heat down to 350°F (180°C) and bake for a further 30-40 minutes until the top is golden.
Serve with Cool Whip, ice cream or hot pouring custard.
Note
Taste the filling to determine if any additional sweetening is required.
