I do love a fruit crumble! Not only are they the perfect comfort food for cooler nights, but they are incredibly quick to make. And, if you store your home-made crumble in the fridge or freezer as I do, the process is even quicker.
This particular dessert came about precisely because I was in a hurry. I had planned on making something a bit more complex and ran out of time, so had to come up with a quick alternative. I had a jar of Morello cherries in the pantry, as well as some Amaretti biscuits and Amaretto liqueur. And, I had some delicious buckwheat and almond crumble – left-overs from the last time I made crumble – in the fridge. And, just like that, a dessert was born!
And, talk about totally delicious! Everyone raved about it. That combination of cherries and amaretti crumb, along with a good dash of Amaretto liqueur was, as expected, an absolute winner.
The good thing about crumbles is that they’re pretty forgiving when it comes to quantities. So, feel free to adapt either the filling or the topping according to what you have in the pantry.
By the way, you can serve this dessert warm or cold. Personally, I prefer crumbles chilled in the fridge – the topping hardens to a thick crust and the filling thickens too. I always top my crumbles with plain whipped cream, but you can add yoghurt, custard or pouring cream if you prefer. Enjoy!
MORELLO CHERRY & AMARETTI CRUMBLE
Ingredients
For the crumble:
- 1 cup amaretti biscuits
- 1/4 cup buckwheat flour (or regular flour)
- 1/4 cup rolled oats
- 1/4 cup ground almonds (almond meal)
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 3.5 oz cold butter
For the filling:
- 24.6 oz jar morello cherries
- 1/2 cup caster sugar
- 1 vanilla bean, split, seeds scraped and reserved
- 2 tbsp arrowroot (or cornflour/corn starch)
- Optional: 1-2 tbsp amaretto liqueur (or to taste)
- Whipped cream, to serve
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180°C (360°F).
- Crumble the amaretti biscuits to a fine crumb (I whizzed them briefly in a food processor). Add the buckwheat flour, rolled oats, ground almonds and brown sugar and stir to combine. Grate in the cold butter and mix it in with your hands. Set aside.
- Drain the cherries, reserving the juice. Place cherry juice, caster sugar, vanilla pod and seeds in a saucepan over medium heat, stirring to dissolve sugar. Dissolve arrowroot in 2 tablespoons of the warm cherry juice mixture, then return to the pan, whisking to combine. Cook, stirring, for 6-8 minutes until thickened, then add the cherries and stir gently to combine. Take off the heat and add the amaretto liqueur, if using (I suggest you start with one tablespoon, taste, then add more if you want to).
- Divide cherry mixture among six 1-cup (250ml) ramekins. Let the cherries cool a little, then cover generously with crumb mixture (you’ll have quite a bit left over which you can store in the fridge for another time). Dot the finely diced butter evenly over top of the crumble.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes until the topping is golden and the juices are bubbling. Once baked, set ramekins on a wire rack to cool. You can either serve the puddings while still warm or, as I prefer, store in the fridge to chill. Take out of the fridge about 15 minutes prior to serving and dollop some cream on top.
What happens to the butter?
It’s listed in the ingredients but not used in the instructions?
Hi Beth. Apologies for that omission. Actually, I dotted the butter over top of the crumble before baking, which is how I used to do it. It’s the way my mother used to make crumbles, but it can lead to a bit of inconsistency in the texture of the crumble (moister in some places and a bit dry in others). I’ve amended the recipe now so that it reflects how I make crumbles these days – grating the butter into the crumble and mixing it in. Sorry for the confusion!