As the weather gets colder, nothing beats a baked dessert. Warm sweet fruit, with a crumbly crunchy topping.

We both have sweet tooths and let’s be realistic, there are some days when you just have to have a little treat. So when we make sweet treats, we find every way possible to ADD nutrition to the dish. The humble crumble is a well known dessert made on fruit (yes good), lashings of butter, white flour and processed sugar (not so good) and not a lot of anything else (not so nutritious).

If you take a look at this crumble, it still contains calories from sugar and nuts but the difference is the ingredients are less processed and actually contain nutritional benefits.

• More fruit less crumble and the skin is left on the fruit to provide more fibre
• This crumble is packed full of fibre from the fruit, nuts, dates and wholemeal flour to promote a healthy digestive system. As a gluten free alternative, simply replace the flour with equal quantities of ground nuts of your choice. We love macadamia nuts and almonds.
• Instead of sugar, use a low GI minimally processed sugar such as coconut sugar or Rapidura which are available from health food stores and have a delicious caramel flavour. If you can’t find these, use brown sugar. Or just omit sugar altogether if you wish.
• Adding nuts and seeds to the topping not only increases the fibre, but also provides heart healthy mono unsaturated fats to protect against heart disease, vitamins, minerals and a delicious flavour.

This recipe isn’t designed to be adhered to. You can swap and change nuts, use your favourite fruit and experiment with different combo’s.

Recipe

Serves 2

Difficulty level: Easy

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: 45 minutes.

• 2 Peaches sliced
• 2 Apples sliced
• 6 dried dates chopped finely
• 6 tablespoons butter at room temperature. Alternatively, 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 Cups wholemeal or plain flour (This is where you can replace the flour with equal quantities of ground nuts* for a gluten free option)
• 1/2 cup  coconut sugar, rapidura sugar or sugar of your choice
• 1/4 cup sesame seeds (optional)
• 1/4 cup linseeds (optional)
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon

Method:

• Grease 2 small ramekins or 1 large ramekin with olive oil
• Slice the unpeeled fruit (apple and peaches) alternately in layers within the ramekins,  sprinkling chopped dates between layers
• Place the remaining ingredients in a blender and blend until mixture becomes course like breadcrumbs
• If the mixture is too dry you may need to add a little more oil or spread, 1 tablespoon at a time.
• The mixture should ‘clump’ together when you squeeze it in the palm of your hand and then crumble apart when you try and break it.

• Take handfuls of the crumble in your hand, and squeeze together
• Place these clumps gently on top of the fruit within the bowl.
• Sprinkle each with a pinch of cinnamon.
• Bake in the oven for 30 mins – 1 hour depending on the size of your dish.
• The crumble should turn crisp and golden on top, and the fruit be bubbling underneath.

Variations:

• Use peaches and pears, apples and pears, nectarines and apples, plums and apples, plums and nectarines…the combinations are endless.
•  Tinned fruit in natural juice or frozen berries can also be used.
• Add 2 tablespoons of  chia seeds to the crumble mixture to add fibre, protein, iron and omega 3’s.
• Use honey to sweeten the dish instead of sugar.
• Before baking sprinkle the crumble with 1/2 cup coconut flakes.

Stay Happy and Healthy…The Nutrition Guru and The Chef