Crumble is the ultimate winter comfort food. This vegan fruit crumble recipe is easy to make, packed with delicious fruit and a touch of cinnamon. Just delicious.
There are not many desserts that we enjoy more or make more than this vegan fruit crumble recipe. As the evenings draw in the thought of filling the kitchen with the scent of cooked fruit with a hint of cinnamon and then savouring every mouthful of this comforting dessert is something we find hard to resist.
We’ve also made this delicious vegan fruit crumble recipe gluten-free.
Why is this vegan fruit crumble recipe healthier?
Making your own fruit crumble means that you are in control of the amount and type of sugar/sweetener you use. Many shop-bought desserts are high in added sugars, drowning out the flavours and natural sweetness of the fruit. We’ve also kept the sugar lower in the crumble topping.
In most crumble recipes the crumble topping is made with plain flour, but we like to mix the flours up to give extra flavour and to add a little more fibre to your dessert ( you’ll never know).
What types of fruit to use?
One of the many joys of the fruit crumble is that you can mix up the fruits you choose to use. In this fruit crumble recipe we have used a mix of plums, apples (not even cooking ones – just the ones that look a little tired in the fruit bowl) and mixed berries – again the berries were a mix of the berries left in the fridge.
We have to be honest and say a full apple crumble isn’t our favourite, but mix apples with berries and you are onto a winning combination.
Plums we find always create a stickier fruit mix which is why we love to use them. Peaches also make for a sweeter more summery crumble.
Berries, use fresh or frozen berries – use blueberries, red or black currants, blackberries, cherries, strawberries and raspberries, think of a berry and try it in your fruit crumble.
You’ll notice we add a tablespoon of balsamic vinegar, a friend taught us this trick, it helps to balance the fruit flavours and make a stickier fruit base – the perfect crumble for us is when the fruit juices ooze over the top of the crumble.
How to make the crumble topping.
This is easy, add all the crumble topping ingredients into a large mixing bowl and rub them together with your hands until they create a loose crumb. Tap the bowl on the worktop to get the larger crumbs to rise to the top, do this a few times until you have an even crumble topping.
Alternatively use a food processer and pulse the crumble topping into a loose crumb.
Do I have to use this mix of flour and sugar?
No, not at all, we like mixing up the flours and the sugar as it gives extra flavour to the crumble topping and makes it that little bit healthier. The mix of flours we have used in the vegan fruit crumble are all gluten-free (gluten-free plain, buckwheat and teff), but if you do not need gluten-free flour then using wholemeal, or a mix of plain and wholemeal really works well.
Another great alternative to making a full flour topping is to swop part of the flour for ground almonds or small oats.
What to serve your vegan fruit crumble with…
Now here’s a question. It’s entirely up to you, sometimes we love the fruit crumble on its own (we’ve been known to eat it for breakfast). Generally, though it depends on the season, in winter we are more likely to have custard, in the summer it’s likely to be cream or ice cream. The kids all prefer it with ice cream. Another great option is natural yoghurt, this works really well and is, of course, healthier than custard, cream or ice cream.
Can you freeze the vegan fruit crumble?
The crumble will store covered in the fridge for up to 2 days.
Yes, freeze the crumble, we tend to freeze in portion sizes for that emergency I need a crumble now moments. This way it’s quicker to defrost, either leave on the side or defrost on a low heat in the microwave before heating through, covering it in custard and enjoying.
This is an absolutely delicious vegan fruit crumble. Slightly healthier, vegan and gluten-free and super simple to make.
Ingredients
Scale
For the fruit filling
6 plums, de-stoned
2 large apples
200g berries (fresh or frozen)
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons maple syrup
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
For the crumble topping
80g gluten-free plain flour
70g mixed flour – we use a mix of 35g teff & 35g Buckwheat flour
80g sugar – we use 40g coconut sugar & 40g golden granulated sugar
65g vegan butter or spread of your choice
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
Heat the oven 200 /180°C fan/ gas mark 6 / 400F
Destone and core the fruit – roughly chop. Add all the fruit to a medium-sized saucepan over a medium heat on the hob.
To the pan add the balsamic vinegar, maple syrup and ground cinnamon. Stir in and then allow the fruit to gradually soften – for 10 minutes or so.
In the meantime make the crumble topping. You can use a food processer to pulse all the ingredients together but we prefer adding all the ingredients to a mixing bowl and rubbing them together with our fingers until you have combined all the ingredients to a light crumb.
Tip the fruit into the ovenproof dish and evenly spread the crumble over the top.
Place in the centre of the oven and bake for 20 minutes until golden on top and the fruit juice appears over the edges of the crumble topping.
Serve hot, on its own, or with your choice of cream, ice cream or custard.
Notes
To Store – Keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 48 hours or freeze in portion sizes. If freezing, defrost thoroughly before reheating.
Keywords: vegan fruit crumble, gluten-free crumble, fruit crumble
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