Belinda Jeffery

When I was growing up we nearly always had a dessert of some sort to finish our dinner (mum didn’t consider a meal complete without a little something sweet to finish). She made a vast range of puddings, but it was one of her simplest that I most looked forward to: a crunchy-topped, warm pear crumble with ice-cream . . . I would slide my spoon down the sides of the bowl so each mouthful contained the warmly fragrant fruit and crunchy rubble of crumble, along with a smidgin of ice-cream.

The modest look of this crumble belies just how good it is. And although it’s tempting to serve it hot, the flavour of the pears is best when they’re barely warm beneath the nubbly crumble topping. As to what to serve with it, to my mind it’s even better for the addition of ice-cold vanilla ice-cream which slowly melts into the fragrant juices, or more simply, a splash of cream.

Serves 4 – 6

Preheat your oven to 200°C (180C FF).

For the crumble, tip the flour, sugar, cinnamon and salt into the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade and whiz them together for 10 seconds or so. Scatter the butter chunks over the top, then pulse the processor to cut the butter into the flour mixture until it resembles medium–fine breadcrumbs. (Just be careful not to overdo this or the crumble will start to come together into a paste.)

Tip the crumble mixture into a bowl. Sprinkle the iced water over the top, then toss the mixture about with a fork so some of the crumbs stick together to form slightly larger clumps, and the mixture looks a bit like rubble. Pop the bowl into the fridge while you make the pear and maple filling.

Put the pears into a large bowl and pour in the maple syrup, butter, lemon juice and vanilla, then sprinkle the flour evenly over the top. Using your hands, gently but thoroughly mix everything together (if you like, don a pair of food-prep gloves for this).

Scoop the pear mixture into a medium-sized ovenproof glass, ceramic or enamelled dish and spread it out evenly (the dish I use is 24 cm x 16 cm x 5 cm). Sprinkle the crumble evenly over the pear mixture, then tap the dish once against the benchtop to allow some of the crumble to seep down into the pears.

Pop the dish into the oven and bake the crumble for 35–40 minutes, until it looks crisp and golden, and the juices from the pear mixture bubble up here and there.

When it’s ready, remove the dish from the oven and leave the crumble to cool until it’s lukewarm. (If the sides of the dish are splattered, wipe them clean with damp paper towel while the dish is hot.) Dust the crumble lightly with icing sugar and serve it family-style, along with a bowl of vanilla ice-cream or jug of cream.