Crumble- a simple no fuss dessert, a very comforting thing on a chilly February day....a symbol of 'it's the simple things that matter in life'. We usually only had apple crumble when I was little ...and apple crumble when I was big -that's just the way it was.We had an orchard that had different varieties of apple trees with some pear and plum too, but rarely did we get any fruit from the plum or pear and if we did -it wouldn't have made crumble for a family of 7!You can make any kind of crumble you like -it's one of those things, like risotto and schnapps. I made a lovely quince crumble for the Celebrating Autumn Supper from Nigel (my food crush!) Slaters 'Tender Vol 2' . Anyway just let your imagination run wild...and don't forget the cream!

What you need; Serves- 4

Fruit of your choosing - for this crumble 2 very large/ 4 medium sized pears, 8-10 small plums and a large cup full of poppas raspberries frozen from last Summer
1tsp ground cardamom -optional
110g plain flour
85g brown sugar
55g butter cubed/grated

What you need to do;

Put the oven on to 180'C
Cut your fruit into small-ish pieces...not too small or it will lose it's shape
Pop into pot with a tsp of brown sugar, on a medium heat, bring to a simmer-even though you will feel like you need to add water -don't! The heat will draw the juices from the fruit.

Next make the topping by putting the flour and butter in a bowl and 'rubbing' as with pastry to achieve a crumb consistency -then add your sugar and mix through
You can play around with the crumble topping - why not add some roasted crushed nuts, oatflakes, seeds...
When your fruit has had a few mins to simmer pop into desired oven proof dishes and sprinkle a good layer of crumble on top -don't fill them up too high as the fruit usually bubbles up

Bake in the oven for 15 mins -brown under grill if you need to
Enjoy with cream or custard in large quantities.

Other combinations;

Apple, Blackberry & Cinamon
Hunza Apricot, Pear & Cardamom
Quince, Apple & Nutmeg
Whatever & Tickles Your Fancy :) x