The Crumble Quest

Every summer for probably the past decade, I've made at least one fruit crisp or cobbler. I am always so hopeful. And I am always so disappointed.


My older sister, on the other hand, is a fruit crumble fairy. Hers always have the perfect filling:topping ratio, where the part that should be crisp actually is, and where the part that shouldn't be soupy isn't. It sounds simple, but in this family of fruit desserts, it's not that easy to create one that forms no puddle in the bottom and offers no sogginess on top, without that pasty limbo in between. I'm thinking of the elusive crumble, the one where the brightness of its fruit seizes you right when that crunch echoes in your head.

Of course I've asked her for her recipe, and of course she gave it to me without holding anything back! We are sisters, after all. Although now that I think about it, maybe she has withheld some information as punishment for all the times that I made her cry and got her into trouble when we were children. But no, I take that back. She doesn't have a mean-spirited bone in her body, which explains our childhood dynamics and the injustices I subjected her to years ago.


Hm ... so maaaaybe ... maybe I should really get back to crisps.


The problem with fruit-centric desserts is the fruit. No two are the same, at least not that I've ever encountered. Size-wise, what exactly is "a large peach"? The size of a fist? Whose fist, yours or mine? For this reason I like recipes that specify the weight of the required fruit, because at least that eliminates some of the ambiguity. But that still leaves me with a host of other issues, like sweetness, degree of ripeness, and juiciness.


I've tried a lot of recipes, with no luck. But maybe I'm just complicating things. Unintimidated and confident, my sister just tosses the filling together, pours it into a dish, blankets it with streusel, pops the dish into the oven, and then, ta-da, behold, her perfect, effortless crisp. Fruit can smell fear, that's got to be what it is.

Actually, a more plausible explanation would be that I just had to try Flo Braker's recipe, because last week I think I finally, finally, finally got it right. I used her streusel recipe pretty much as-is, but used only cubed peaches in the fruit mixture. The peaches were ripe, but not overly so. They were still a bit firm, but juicy - good enough to eat on their own. Maybe that's the ripeness-stage to aim for.


In this fruit crumble, the tender peach filling triumphantly high-fives its crisp streusel companion, and the juice organizes itself into a sauce (not a soup). It needs neither ice cream nor whipped cream, although I'm sure it wouldn't hurt to serve either on the side.

It looks like things just might be on the up and up for me and my fruit crumble quest. I'll have to make this again before the cold weather creeps in, and maybe, just maybe, I'll be a step closer in following in the fruit crumble fairy's footsteps.

Peach Crumble

(Almost-Last-Minute Summer Fruit Crumble) 

Adapted from and inspired by Baking For All Occasions, by Flo Braker

Flo Braker explains that the British call this a "crumble" while Americans call it a "crisp". This site goes a step further, shedding some light on some of crumble's cousins (including cobblers, buckles, and grunts)


Oven
  Preheated to 350ºF, rack in the centre


For the streusel
In a large bowl, combine:
  4 ounces (1¼ cups) old-fashioned rolled oats
  4½ ounces (1 cup) all-purpose flour
  7 ounces (1 cup) light brown sugar
  5 ounces (10 Tbsp, or ½ cup + 2 Tbsp) butter, cold, cut into ¼" slices
  1 tsp baking powder
  ¾ tsp ground cinnamon
  ⅛ tsp salt


Using your fingertips or a pastry blender, mix the ingredients until the butter forms pea-sized lumps. You'll know it's ready when the mixture holds together (in a crumbly sort of way) when you squeeze a small handful of it.  This can be used right away, or it can be covered and stored at room temperature for up to 2 hours, or it can be covered and refrigerated for up to 5 days.


For the fruit mixture
In a large bowl - use the largest you have and you will not regret it, because it will make your tossing much easier - combine:
  3 lbs peaches, peeled, halved, pitted and diced (or sliced)
    this will yield 10-12 cups diced peaches
  2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
  1 tsp vanilla extract
  ¼ tsp almond extract
  4¼ ounces (½ cup + 2 Tbsp) granulated sugar
    if your peaches are not very sweet, 
    you could add another 2 Tbsp sugar over the amount listed above
  3 Tbsp cornstarch 
    the original recipe calls for all-purpose flour, 
    but my peaches were very juicy so I went with cornstarch


Gently toss the mixture with a rubber spatula, until just combined.


Assemble and bake
Pour the fruit mixture into a 9" square glass baking dish, or a 9"x13" glass baking dish. I used a square dish because I wanted more height than breadth.


Scatter the streusel lightly over the fruit, taking care not to pack it down.


If you wish, place the dish over a foil-lined cookie sheet.  This sheet will catch any juices that may drip off the dish.


Bake the crumble at 350ºF, on the centre rack, for about 50 minutes.  The fruit will be soft, the juices bubbling, and the topping lightly browned. Set on a wire rack to cool for a bit. Serve warm, perhaps with some ice cream or freshly whipped cream, if desired. Leftovers keep well in the fridge, and are quite good even straight out of it.


Serves 8 to 10.