Tuesday 22 March 2011

WHB Peach crumble

I've decided peach crumble recipes are like taxis. You see they everywhere but when you want one they are thin on the ground. I often admire stone fruit recipes but don't cook them often because I prefer to eat fresh stone fruit. Recently I found some peaches in the supermarket that were a bit grungy so I decided it was time for some baking.

When I decided to make a crumble, I couldn't find the right recipe. The best I could find was Heidi's Plum and Peach Crisp. I fiddled with the recipe to make it barely sweet and topped with chunky crumble, full of nuts, coconut and oats, that was more akin to muesli than dessert.

Sylvia hadn't been happy in her swimming lesson that morning and came home in a grumpy mood. She needed attention. I chose distraction. Much of our bench space had disappeared into the black hole of renovations. I washed the peaches and sat on the floor with Sylvia while I chopped them. I'd bought them for baking because I didn't fancy eating them fresh. Ironically as we prepared the crumble, Sylvia and I had a lovely time eating chunks of peaches.

I made the crumble in the afternoon so Sylvia could have some after dinner. It seemed a good way to get some extra nutrition. She enjoyed the crumble topping but wouldn't eat the cooked peaches. I was surprised and wonder if she will embrace baked fruit desserts in the coming winter the way she did last year. E wasn't keen on it either.

That left me with a lot of crumble. I enjoyed it over quite a few nights, also having a small bowlful for the occasional snack. I was disappointed that the peaches weren't soft and falling apart. Perhaps they weren't quite as ripe as intended by the recipe, though I cooked it almost twice as long as Heidi stipulated. I have seen some recipes directing to cook the peaches for some time before adding the crumble and I think I may do this next time.

I was interested in Heidi's method of stirring melted butter and yoghurt into the dry ingredients, rather than rubbing cold butter in. The topping was not as crisp as I like but it had lots of good stuff in it. I would not claim it is my favourite crumble but I am pleased to have finally made a peach crumble. I had no problem with having to eat most of it myself. Now I look forward to more experiments.

I am sending the crumble to Cinzia of Cindystar for Weekend Herb Blogging #276, the event coordinated by Haalo and founded by Kalyn.

Previously on Green Gourmet Giraffe:
This time last year: Flat pack chocolate chip cookies
This time three years ago: St Patrick, Soup and a Shamrock

Peach crumble
serves about 6
loosely adapted from 101 Cookbooks
  • 6-8 ripe peaches
  • 2 tbsp honey
  • 1 tbsp malt syrup
  • 1 tbsp cornflour (cornstarch)
  • 3/4 cup rolled oats
  • 1/4 cup wholemeal flour
  • 1/4 cup shredded coconut
  • 1/4 cup finely chopped brazil nuts
  • 1/4 cup brown sugar, lightly packed
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • big pinch of salt (I didn't do this)
  • 2, 1/2 tbsp butter, melted
  • 2 tbsp plain yogurt

Preheat the oven to 200 C or 400F.

Cut the peaches into bite-sized pieces (about 1 inch) and place in a casserole dish. Mix together honey, malt syrup and cornflour in a small bowl and stir into the peaches in the dish. If your peaches are not ripe and soft, I suggest placing this dish in the oven for about 10-15 minutes, though I didn't do this.

To make the topping combine the oats, flour, coconut, nuts, sugar, cinnamon and salt together in a medium bowl. Stir in the butter, and the yogurt and mix until combined into a thick dough-like batter. Sprinkle over the peach mixture.

Bake for about 30-40 minutes until the crumble is golden brown. Serve warm or at room temperature. Keeps well for a few days in the fridge.

On the stereo:
Greatest Hits: John Denver

13 comments:

  1. Totally agree with you. Good stone fruits are not for baking ;). I haven't done anything with them in ages.... But crumble is soo nice!

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  2. Ooooh, I love all the good, nutritious things in this crumble topping! Zach isn't keen on cooked fruit (perhaps like Sylvia? :-), so I don't get to make crumbles often, which is a shame because I adore them, but I think he might be tempted by all the deliciousness and healthfulness in this topping! Thank you for the great idea for a new crumble recipe!

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  3. Funny how when you're looking for what we assume is a common recipe--a crumble--you can't find one! I'm sure I'd like your version better than Heidi's. :) I have had the same issue with peaches--even ripe ones didn't bake up really soft. But the flavor must have been exceptionally good.

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  4. Ditto, here. Nothing beats a fresh, juicy stone fruit!!! However, Johanna, that crumble looks mighty satisfying too. I wonder if blanching the peaches first would have helped their texture. I've never seen a peach crumble like this recipe. It seems to have an assortment of ingredients I'd love to try.

    Thanks for sharing...

    Kids are so funny with food textures aren't they. My grandson, Noah shuffles back and forth with fresh fruit. Sometimes he likes it cooked, others not so much...

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  5. It looks delicious, even if you were the only taker - more for you I say, and I think it would have been lovely for breakfast with yoghurt on top.

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  6. yumm...I LOVE crumble! I haven't come across malt syrup before...is that something you can pickup from the supermarket?

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  7. I now have the HUGEST craving for peaches :)

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  8. The idea of a peach crumble blows my mind. I grew up eating crumbles all the time, but they were always apple, berry, rhubarb, or a combination of those. For some reason peach crumble sounds crazy, but good!

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  9. Peach crumble sounds as though it should be really luscious and delicious. And your topping is great - I love puddings that you can feel good about eating.

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  10. Thanks Anh - you hit the nail on the head - a desire for baking stone fruits thwarted by good fresh fruit that just begs to be eaten as is!!!

    Thanks Astra - I can understand why Zac doesn't like cooked fruit but I think there is a time when it is great - and under crumble is one of those - I am sure you would love this crumble - and it lasted here for 5 or 6 days if Zac rejects it

    Thanks Ricki - I think stewed peaches might be better as that has worked well for me with apricot crumbles - and yes this seemed a common recipe until I started looking for it (although I was avoiding the butter sugar and flour versions which narrowed it down)

    Thanks Louise - fresh fruit is a wonderful thing and yes kids are predictable - it is hard to know how sylvia will react to foods - though I was impressed she tried a beetroot and goats cheese tart this week even though she ended up only eating the pastry - brownie points for trying

    Thanks Cakelaw - oh yes I think I might have had it for breakfast on at least one occasion and I suspect we served it with yoghurt too - it lasted so long I feel I tried it every which way

    Thanks Karla - yes I found malt syrup in the supermarket by the golden syrup - found it while searching for brown rice syrup - it is not very sweet and has B12 in it

    Thanks Lisa - me too (I want them more now that they are getting harder to buy)

    Thanks Hannah - I grew up loving apricot crumbles but the idea of peach crumble seems posh and decadent because peaches were so special in my childhood

    Thanks Choclette - it is such a wonderful idea isn't it - I worried it wasn't sweet enough but once I relaxed about that I loved it

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  11. Mmmmmmmm, I love a crumble of any sort and this looks like a wonderful treat to me. I'm really interested in the topping you have used, I'll need to remember this for crumble season over here (which is never far away lol)

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  12. It sounds pretty good anyway, maybe the kind of peaches you choose were too firm, not very suitable for baking.
    thanks for participating, WHB#276 recap
    is on line, have a nice week!

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  13. I'm totally with you - I prefer to eat fresh stone fruit than bake with it. Well for me I like fresh fruit versus baked, always haha. That is interesting about the yogurt in the crumble part, I've never seen anything like that.

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