Recipe: Killer Spiced Fruit Crumble

A few things tip this over from an ordinary crumble into slightly special territory. First there are the spices for the stone fruit. You could just use ground cinnamon, but if you give a few cardamom pods a bash, you’ll have something far more exciting. The same with the amaretti biscuits in the crumble (we’re after the crispy, crunchy ones, not the soft ones): while the crumble would still be lovely without them, they certainly make things more interesting. And if the kids aren’t going to eat it anyway, then why not?

Serves 4-6

Ingredients

6 cardamom pods
800 g ripe stonefruit, such as peaches, nectarines or plums, halved and stones removed
50 g soft brown sugar
finely grated zest of 1 orange
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon plain (all-purpose) flour
whipped cream, to serve

Crumble Topping

100 g crisp amaretti biscuits
150 g plain (all-purpose) flour
80 g caster (superfine) sugar
80 g light muscovado sugar
¼ cup (25 g) rolled oats
150 g butter, melted

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F).

2. Using the end of a rolling pin, bash the cardamom pods to split them open and remove the seeds. Place the seeds in a pestle and mortar and grind to a rough powder.

3. Place the fruit in a 20 x 30 cm (8 x 12 inch) baking dish and add the sugar, orange zest, cinnamon, cardamom powder and flour, then toss everything together to combine.

4. Roast in the oven for 20 minutes, or until the fruit has softened. Meanwhile, make the crumble topping. Put the amaretti biscuits in a snaplock bag and bash with the rolling pin until finely crushed (or pulse them briefly in a food processor), then tip them into a medium bowl and stir in the flour, sugars and rolled oats. Add the butter and combine with the dry ingredients to form a crumble.

5. Scatter the crumble topping over the roasted fruit and pop back in the oven for 20–25 minutes, or until golden and bubbling. Serve warm with whipped cream. 

Recipes extracted from Real World Dinner Solutions for The Exhausted by Yumi Stynes and Simon Davis, published by Murdoch Books, RRP: $45.