Pear Crumble
Sliced pears baked under a golden oat and butter crumble topping. Six servings in 50 minutes.
Photograph credit: Apple pear crumble by Saucy Salad · CC BY 2.0 · Flickr
The Method for Pear Crumble
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Heat the oven to 190°C / 375°F (170°C / 340°F fan). Toss the pears with the sugar, cornflour and cinnamon in a 2 litre baking dish.
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Rub the butter into the flour until crumbly, with some pea-sized pieces. Stir in the oats and brown sugar.
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Scatter the topping loosely over the pears without pressing down.
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Bake for 35 minutes until golden and the juices are bubbling at the edges. Rest for 10 minutes.
What Can Go Wrong
- Use pears that are ripe but still firm.
- Do not press the topping down; keep it loose and lumpy.
- Cover with foil if the top darkens before the fruit is tender.
Good to Know About Pear Crumble
Pears are softer than apples and give off more juice, which is why a pear crumble needs a little cornflour in the fruit. It thickens the liquid into a light syrup instead of a pool.
Use pears that are ripe but still firm. Hard pears stay hard in the oven; very soft ones turn to mush. Peel, core and cut them into 2 cm chunks.
The topping is the part that matters. Rub the butter into the flour with your fingertips until it looks like coarse crumbs with some pea-sized pieces left. Those lumps are what crisp. Fine, sandy crumble goes hard and flat.
Oats add chew. Scatter the topping on loosely, without pressing it down. Bake until the top is golden and the juices bubble round the edges. Pears are often cheaper than apples late in the year, and a crumble is a good use for a bag that has ripened all at once. A spoon of ginger in the topping goes well with pears and costs very little.
On the Table Alongside
Custard · Vanilla ice cream · Cream · Yogurt
Keeping Pear Crumble
Keeps in the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheat at 160°C for 15 minutes.
Questions People Ask
How long does Pear Crumble take to make?
About 50 minutes in total — 15 minutes of preparation and 35 minutes of cooking. The recipe serves 6.
What are the key tips for making Pear Crumble?
Use pears that are ripe but still firm. Do not press the topping down; keep it loose and lumpy. Cover with foil if the top darkens before the fruit is tender.
What should I serve with Pear Crumble?
Custard; Vanilla ice cream; Cream; Yogurt.
How should Pear Crumble be stored?
Keeps in the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheat at 160°C for 15 minutes.
Is Pear Crumble suitable for a special diet?
This recipe is vegetarian. Those labels are checked against the ingredient list, so a dish is only marked when nothing in it contradicts the claim.
How many calories are in Pear Crumble?
About 443 kcal per serving, with 5 g protein, 72 g carbohydrate and 15 g fat. The figures are calculated from the ingredient list and are an estimate.
Pear Crumble Nutrition
Per serving, calculated from the ingredient list. Treat these as an estimate — brands and cuts vary.
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Written and tested by Turab
One person, one kitchen — no test kitchen, no team. How every recipe on this site is checked before it goes up.
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