Apricot & Peach Pecan Crumble

So. What do you do when you walk into the garage and find a punnet of apricots on top of the freezer that may contain one or two . . . err, how can I put this delicately . . . that may be past their best (yes, I mean a little furry. And not in a good way, like apricots are supposed to be).

You chop them up with two slightly wrinkly peaches (look, the hot weather is turning everything wrinkly, don’t judge me by the state of my fruit, please) . . .

And turn them into crumble.

I love crumble. It’s one of my favourite puddings. I’ve even been known to eat the left-overs for breakfast. But, for me, it has always been an autumn / winter pudding, Primarily because it needs to be served hot with cream dripping down the sides.

To all intents and purposes, this crumble looks autumnal, doesn’t it? Oranges and browns with nuts and cinnamon and nutmeg. Sounds and looks like October in a bowl.

But . . .

This crumble is delicious served at room temperature (which in this heat, is still warm) with a scoop of ice cream on the top (or cream if you would prefer).

The addition of chopped pecan nuts to the topping, combined with the sugar and butter give it a kind of sticky toffee pudding taste which is simply scrummy alongside the hint of nutmeg running through the fruit.

It also means it’s a hit with the men folk.

If you let them get anywhere near it!

Apricot & Peach Pecan Crumble

Ingredients:

Filling:

• 10 apricots, stones removed and chopped into bite size pieces
• 2 peaches, stones removed and chopped into bite size pieces
• 1 tbsp rapadura sugar
• 1 tbsp cornflour
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
• Juice of half a lemon (depends on how juicy your fruit is)

Topping:

• 4oz butter, chilled and cut into cubes
• 1 cup of plain gluten-free flour
• 3/4 cup chopped pecans
• 1/2 cup rapadura sugar
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/8 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp freshly grated nutmeg

Method:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees celsius.
2. Mix all the ingredients for the filling together in a bowl and transfer into a baking dish. You will only need to add the lemon juice if your fruit is a little dry. If you use slightly over-ripe fruit, the chances are you won’t need it.
3. In another bowl, combine all the ingredients for the topping, rubbing the butter between your fingers until you have a rough breadcrumb texture (the butter is approximately the size of peas).
4. Sprinkle over the fruit mixture.
5. Bake for 30-35 minutes, until the topping is golden brown.
6. Serve warm or at room temperature with ice cream or cream.