In our house food is its own love language. We use food as a way to celebrate holidays, birthdays, job promotions. So when I ask M what kind of cake he wants for his birthday he never asks for a 7 layer, cake with filling and frosting. No no, my man is a simple man.
Despite my plea for him to request some delicious, over the top, challenge my culinary skills dessert, he inevitably asks for some type of baked fruit with a crispy topping. Macarons? I softly offer. Chocolate peanut butter cupcakes? I implore. Creme brulee I sweetly suggest. No, he sticks to fruit crumble a.k.a. poor man’s apple pie. As I said, a simple man.
The Fall is the quintessential time to have crumble. This one I made with plums but it is equally good with the beautiful apples that are flooding markets now (or better yet, go out and pick your own). The crispy topping is made totally grain and dairy free by using chopped nuts and coconut oil. It would make a lovely Thanksgiving dessert topped with some ice cream. This recipe is only slightly sweet and with all that fruit, it totally doubles as a breakfast food possibly served with a dollop of yogurt.
This is the texture the crumble topping should be once you’re done chopping it in the food processor.
| The Humble Fruit Crumble | Print |
- 2 lbs plums, pitted and quartered
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tbsp arrowroot powder/starch
- 1 tbsp coconut sugar
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- ⅛ tsp ground allspice
- ⅛ tsp ground cloves
- ⅛ tsp salt
- ⅔ cup of raw almonds
- ⅔ cup of raw pecans
- 2 tbsp of coconut oil (solid)
- 4 dates, pitted
- 2 tbs of shredded, unsweetened coconut
- 1½ tsp cinnamon
- ¼ tsp salt
- Preheat the oven to 375 F.
- Place the plums into an 8" x 11" baking dish and add the lemon juice, arrowroot starch , spices and salt. Stir to combine. Press down on the mixture so that it is evenly spread into dish.
- Place the nuts, solid coconut oil, dates, shredded coconut, cinnamon and salt in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until the mixture resembles the texture of oats.
- Generously and evenly sprinkle the topping over the fruit in the dish.
- Place in the oven and bake for approximately 30-35 minutes. The fruit will be bubbling and the topping will be golden brown.
I love all those interesting desserts too, but the crumble is the one I always come back to – the perfect combination of hot, tender fruit and crunchy topping with ice cream! I love the raw, nutty topping you have used here especially – it sounds wonderful <3
Thanks so much Claudia! It really is a yummy topping. Let us know how it goes when you try it out. Awesome work on your own blog as well!
This looks so yummy and healthy enough that I can eat it for breakfast 😉
Totally! We eat it for breakfast around here regularly 🙂 Glad you like the post Bethany.