I’ve never met anyone who didn’t like crumble, there just seems to be something really comforting about it. Plus, how could you not like something that’s sweet, crumbly and crunchy all at the same time.
This one is a slight variation on traditional crumble, with crumble mix on the top and bottom, just because. The fact that it’s a slice does give it the advantage of being a bit more multi-purpose though – you could have it for dessert or as a cake for afternoon tea. And feel free to use different fruit – the beauty of crumble is that you can really just add in whatever you like. I’m all for having good old fashioned desserts with proper butter and sugar now and then but I thought I would try and make a healthier version of crumble, just to see how it would go. So this one is made with olive oil instead of butter and which means it’s much lower in saturated fat (the ‘bad’ fat), and I’ve added some dates for sweetness so that you don’t need so much sugar.
I’ve also used wholemeal flour and included oats and nuts so, along with the fruit, it’s pretty packed full of good stuff. If that all sounds a bit too healthy though, feel free to serve it with a scoop of ice cream, all in the name of moderation.
It’s already one of the easiest desserts around to make, but because I’m a total fiend for shortcuts, I’ve made this one even easier by cutting out the need to cook the fruit first. If you slice the pears finely enough they cook in no time at all so you can just cook the whole lot together.
Ingredients (makes about 8 squares):
3/4 cup dates, chopped
1/2 cup water
2 cups wholemeal plain flour
1 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup desiccated coconut
1/2 cup chopped nuts (e.g. walnuts, pecans or almonds)
1/2 cup olive oil (or vegetable oil)
1/2 cup brown sugar
Pinch of salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 pears, peeled and very thinly sliced
1/2 cup raspberries (fresh or frozen)
Method:
- Preheat oven to 180°C and grease a 20 x 30cm slice tin
- Place dates and water in a small bowl and microwave on high for 1 minute. Mash using the back of a spoon.
- Place flour, oats, coconut, nuts, olive oil, sugar, salt, cinnamon and date mixture in a bowl and mix well until combined
- Press half of the mixture into the tin. Lay pear slices over the top and top with raspberries. Sprinkle over remaining crumble mixture
- Bake for around 20 minutes until crumble is golden brown
- Stand for 5 minutes before cutting into squares
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