I love crumble so much. I think it is one of my favorite cakes as it is versatile and limitless. I mean, there is no an only version of crumble, it is a basis and then you are totally free to give free rein to your imagination: you can use any kind of fruit your like, mix them together to try new combination, add some nuts or chocolate chunks, make it fruity or more cake like, use a regular crumble topping or a lighter granola kind one, go wild with spices, cinnamon, cardamom, ginger or rosemary… it cannot fail with a crumble and the result will always be amazing! Moreover, it is one of simplest cake that perfectly turn vegan (just replace the butter by coconut oil and you get it) and it is very easy and quick to prepare so it is perfect for a late minute cake or a lazy morning breakfast. 

I have an unforgettable memory of the wonderful crumbles made at The Flower, a lovely tea room in my old town, Toulouse. For me, they are the best crumbles I have ever eaten in my whole life (for the moment). The classic cinnamon apple crumble, and the red berries one are just perfect, simple with a generous topping. So generous that I am not sure I have already succeed to finish it! But I prefer it than to leave a bit hungry…

To come back to this recipe, I wanted to make an upgraded crumble, with the classic simple basis but with more sophisticated flavors. First, I wanted an apricot and peach crumble but unfortunately there are not seasonable fruits so that it is impossible to currently find them in shops. So I finally changed my first choice for a plum and nashi crumble, and I think it was quiet a good alternative. I love nashi, or Asian Pear. They are a fine mix between apple and pear, very fresh and with an exquisite taste. Roasted, they perfectly go with rosemary and thyme and bring the original exotic touch to your baking. I made a simple crumble dough for the topping, sugar free and with only one tablespoon of coconut oil: I think that we tend to systematically put sugar and fat in all our preparations because it is what is said in most of the recipes. But sometimes, try to cut the quantities by two and you could me amazed by the result: often it doesn’t alter neither the taste nor the texture. Just try, and if you are not satisfied it is not to late to add some.

NASHI & CITRUSES ROSEMARY CRUMBLE W/ PASSION FRUIT NICECREAM

Prep time: 30 minutes
Cook time:  30 minutes
Total time:  1h00
Serves: 1 medium pan / 2 serves

INGREDIENTS:

For the Filling:

– 1 nashi (asian pear, about 260g)
– 4 yellow plumes (170g)
– 1/2 organic orange
– orange zest
– 1 tbsp lemon juice
– 1 tbsp coconut oil
– 1 tbsp arrowroot starch
– 1 tsp rosemary
– 1 tsp thymus
– 4 cardamom seeds (or cardamom powder)
– 1 tsp cinnamon
– a pinch of sea salt

For the Crumble dough:

– 1/2 cup barley flakes
– 1/2 cup oats flour
– 15g walnuts kernels
– 1 tsp rosemary
– 1 tsp melted coconut oil
– 1 soft Medjool date
– 6 tbsp water
– a pinch of sea salt

For the Nicecream base:

– 2 ripe frozen bananas
– a splash of unsweetened almond milk
– 1 tsp vanilla extract

For the Passion fruit coulis:

– 60g orange flesh
– 1 passion fruit
– 1/2 tsp agar-agar
– 6 tbsp of water

INSTRUCTIONS:

Prepare the filling:

1. Wash the nashi and the plums and cut them into medium chunks. Put in a large bowl and add the lemon juice in order to avoid the fruits to oxidize.
2. Keep the zest of an organic orange and add in the bowl with the nashi and plums. Slice the orange flesh into small cubes and put half in the bowl. Add the cinnamon, cardamom and salt and mix well.
3. Melt the coconut oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Once oil is melted, add rosemary and thymus and let marinade for about 2-3 minutes. Then add the fruits and let cook for 5 minutes until they begin to caramelize and release water. Remove from heat.
4. Sprinkle on the arrowroot and toss gently to well coated all the fruits without breaking them.

5. Transfer the fruit mixture in an oven proof pan or divide in individual ramekins.

Prepare the crumble dough:

1. Preheat your oven at 180°C.
2. Start by processing the oat flour by blending 1/2 cup of rolled oats in a high speed blender until you obtain a powder like texture.
3. In a large bowl, combine the barley flakes, oat flour, chopped walnuts, salt and rosemary.
4. In a high speed blender, blend the pitted Medjool date with the water until you obtain a syrup like mixture. Add the melted coconut oil.
5. Pour the wet mixture into the dry one and mix with your hands until you obtain a crumbly dough.
6. Crumble the dough over the fruit layer. Keep about 3 tbsp of crumble dough for nice cream topping: place them on a square of baking paper.
7. Bake the crumble and crumble dough leftover for 30 minutes, checking frequently that the dough is not burning (else reduce the oven temperature). The topping should become golden and crispy.
8. Remove from the oven and let cool down.

Prepare the passion fruit coulis:

1. In a sauce pan, put the other half of the orange sliced in small pieces, one passion fruit flesh, the water and the agar-agar. Bring to a boil to activate the agar-agar. Then reduced the heat to medium and let cook for 5 to 10 minutes until the mixture have melted.
2. Remove from the heat and let cool down: the agar-agar will solidified and you should obtain a jelly.

Prepare the nice cream:

1. Blend all the ingredients in a high speed blender until you obtain a smooth ice cream like texture. Add more liquid if necessary.
2. Divide the nice cream into little glasses or bowls. Top with some passion fruit jelly, crumble dough leftover and rosemary sprigs.

Assembly:

1. Top the chilled crumble with coconut yogurt, rosemary sprigs, caramelized nuts and roasted plums (or everything else you want). You can also add some maple syrup if you fear it is not sweet enough. Serve together with the nicecream glasses as a side.