July 23, 2011

Strawberry Crumble — a bit tart, a bit sweet, a bit warm, a bit cold

….and a whole lot delicious!

We are talking baked strawberries. Warm, bubbling berries topped with sweet, crunchy crumble. With sticky, ruby juices oozing out, ahhh. And graced by a generous scoop of soft melting vanilla ice cream. Oh boy!

It’s so easy to make and pretty darn good. A warm, rustic dessert with notes of vanilla, cinnamon and caramelized sugar. Yummy.


Summer is at its peak here—scorching hot mornings and sweltering muggy evenings. With temperatures soaring in the range of 46-48oC so far. Oh yea, the heat is getting unbearable and the energies draining. What more? Hmm, Ramadan is around the corner, and Fall is still so far away.
So, what’s special about summer? Something that brings a smile to your face, makes you savor every minute? I mean, besides, flip-flops, bikini, hammock in the beach or refreshing frozen treats.

To me, it’s the stunning beauty of lush green leaves and fragrant, colorful blooms. There’s nothing more inspiring than the beauty of flourishing nature—it’s so soothing and fascinating. And then, I love picking fresh blooms from the garden to create lovely centerpieces.
Summer, to me, means deejay workouts. Yep. The higher the temperatures and the faster the tempo, the more I’m inspired to sweat off inches. Er…to work towards a rocking body. Well, a girl can dream, right? That's the magic of summer!

Besides, summer spells vacation. Oh boy, vacation.  A time to slip away and escape from the daily routine. Now, if only I could escape to a special place. An exotic faraway destination. A foreign city. If only.

Finally, let’s not forget the bountiful gift of summer—sweet sensational fruits. Especially, berries. 

Yes, berries. One of summer’s simple pleasures and best-loved flavor.
I’m a fan of all berries, but I do heart strawberries. Thank God they are low cal, as I simply love biting into the small, sweet, juicy ones. Or bathing them in melted chocolates for an indulgent treat. They are so versatile, don’t you agree?

Since I can’t take pleasure in strawberry picking from farms, at least not while living in Qatar, I’m always pleased to see them stacked in the supermarket shelves. And I never miss an opportunity to include them in my weekly shopping list.

This week I was in a mini baking mood, and my heart was aching for a chilled dessert as well. That’s when I thought crumble—a delicious foundation for a scoop (or two) of soft frozen ice cream.
A spoonful of crumble anyone?
Strawberry crumble

(inspired by Food Love’s Delicious Crumbles & Cobblers)

Ingredients

250g strawberry, hulled and halved
3 tablespoon caster sugar
1/2 vanilla bean, cut open lengthwise and seeds removed

For topping:
¼ cup all purpose flour
¼ cup rolled oats
¼ cup demerara sugar (light brown sugar), plus extra for sprinkling
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon flaked almonds
3 tablespoon butter
vanilla ice cream, to serve



Directions

Preheat the oven to 400oF/200oC.

In a bowl, toss the berries with the sugar and vanilla, and then divide evenly between 4 small ovenproof ramekins or ceramic baking dishes. Bake for 5 minutes.

To make the topping, combine flour, oats and butter in a mixing bowl, and rub in butter with your fingertips until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Stir in almonds, sugar and cinnamon with a fork.

Scatter the topping evenly over the strawberries, keeping your touch light so that the crumble does not sink into the filling and go mushy. Scatter a bit more sugar on top. Place dishes on an oven tray (to catch any drips) and bake in the preheated oven for 25 minutes or until the crumble topping is crisp and pale gold, the fruit tender, and you can see some rub juices bubbling and seeping out at the edges.

Remove from oven and serve warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, if you like.

You don’t necessarily have to use the same fruits and topping. Have fun experimenting with different ingredients in your kitchen. Try blueberries, raspberries, apples, peaches or a combo. Also try using different nuts such as chopped hazelnuts, pistachios or walnuts in the crumble. And finally serve with ice cream, custard or heavy cream.

All in all, this’s an effortless but refreshing yummy way to end your meals. Rustic and comforting to the core. Well then, indulge!

62 comments:

  1. Simply super and awesome clicks.

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  2. wow beautiful clicks !! this looks wonderful !!

    Ongoing Event - CC-Roti Pachadi/Chutney

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  3. Pictures are stunning. Recipe sounds easy.

    Vardhini
    Event: Fast food not Fat food

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  4. Nash, thanks for popping by to my 'home', these pics are just stunning, even better than the real strawberries sitting in my fridge right now! Spill ur photography tips pls...!

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  5. Beautiful clicks..lovely presentation of the strawberry crumble...looks appetizing and delicious.

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  6. delicious looking crumble perfect summer treat beautiful pictures Nash

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  7. ohhhhoooooo........superb and really apt for this summer........superm pics as usual dear......

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  8. Beautiful photos! A simple crumble is always a joy to bake and eat :)

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  9. I love crumbles too..!! And ur cliks are mindblowing!!!
    Prathima Rao
    Prats Corner

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  10. Those strawberries looking so fresh and juicy....love the crumble, love the presentation, very tempting.....

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  11. Gorgeous clicks and so very tempting crumble dear...

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  12. I am in love with those cute red spoons and of course all ur clicks...super...!!
    Love to grab one...nahhhh..two bowls minimun from the screen 4 my dessert

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  13. Wow What a beautiful picture! Crumble looks yummy!

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  14. Looks fantastic. Crumble sounds delicious.

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  15. WOW.. looks at ur pictures.. just stunning.. looks too good.

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  16. Hi Nash, I'm absolutely in love with those crumbles and juicy strawberry. The description aptly goes with the pictures... Just perfect. I love those flowers too... especially the sepia one... ossumm :)

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  17. ithu kollam ktto.adipoli aayittundu

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  18. I must say that more than the recipes I am interested in seeing stunning pics in ur blog. Absolutely fantastic! Oh Nash I admire ur patience..

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  19. what a mind blowing pictures of strawberry crumbles.... hats off to the person who took the pictures....

    Dish Name Starts with I
    Learning-to-cook
    Regards,
    Akila

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  20. Wow! this looks absolutely delicious.

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  21. You're an amazing food stylist and photographer dear! You made simple dish looks irresistible....

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  22. Perfect summer treat....absolutely beautiful clickss,,,

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  23. I am speechless!! that crumble is looking delicious and your photos .. SIGH!!! that background white light .. how do you do that ?? please give me some gyan here girl.
    Keep rocking.. love your work!

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  24. Stunning pics as always dear...I wish I was your neighbor..SIGH!!!

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  25. wow...this looks fantastic dear....even I made crumble last week but with apples...your clicks are so tempting that I really feel like making it once more but this time with strawberries....:)...yummmmm

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  26. Fall in love with those cute spoons and of course all ur superb clicks...they r awesome...Love to grab all these...enjoy...tc..:)

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  27. Wow this is awesome,stunning clicks...drool worthy dessert..will surely give this recipe a try..thanks for sharing.

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  28. Ohhh the crumble looks so delightful. You have captured the dessert to perfection. Loved all the shots :)

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  29. Nash gal..You seem to have left the old u faaar behind.. :) Louvd the colour sense in the 3rd and 7th pic. Esp 7th one in which the contents of the ramkein matches marvellously with the napkin. Any particular reasoning for the not-chronological order of the pics? Variety aano? Aren't u convinced already for getting that camera !?!? Get it from ur hubby for Eid or even better from ur parents instead of Eidi..! ;-)

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  30. You are right...berries always end up making me smile in summer months..love the crumble ...a relatively healthier dessert perfect for summers!!
    Thanks for the kind words on my blog :)

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  31. Looks delicious...yummy looking crumble. Tempting clicks

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  32. this is so delicious n the clicks r awesome as usual..

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  33. this is awesome Nashi... love the dessert, the post and the stunning pics!

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  34. What a lovely dessert Nashira, full of strawberry goodness!!! so so yummy!!! I want this RIGHT now!! perfect summery treat:) YUM!!

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  35. AnonymousJuly 25, 2011

    Your pics come out so well. I might drop by Doha this coming weekend. The crumble looks gorgeous and so do the blooms. I can't believe you actually have a garden in this soaring temperature in Qatar?

    Awesome!!!

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  36. this looks so yummy n lovely click as always stunning pics

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  37. amazing cliks...lipsmacking dessert..:P
    Tasty Appetite

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  38. Wonderful clicks and mouthwatering dessert.

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  39. Gorgeous and marvellous presentation. Feel like having it now. Looks yummy and tempting.

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  40. Looks rich and delicious ..lovely crumble and excellent presentation:)

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  41. Thanks dear for a warm welcome:)You see this is what I was talking about when I said I miss all the wonderful posts by each one of you...The strawberry crumble is ready to pop out of the screen in my mouth that is how real the pictures are,and they are doing complete justice to this mouth watering dessert :) Keep it up !!!

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  42. Such a beautiful crumble! I’m a sucker for any type of fruit crumble, crisp, cobbler, pie ~ you name it! Warm with a cold scoop of vanilla ice cream ~ oh my! And now I need some :))
    US Masala

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  43. gorgeous dear...love the crumble and its not a bit but a lot temptg

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  44. The pictures are sooo tempting that right now I am craving for some strawberry crumble .

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  45. Hi...
    Recipeyum clicksum super...

    I made the cookies...It was awesome...it took around 30 min to bake...I think may be bcoz my tsp was bit big...:)
    I tried with half the portion only so I dint get any thing to click..My hubby and kid finished almost everything before I cud do anything...so will be baking it again in few days :)
    Thanks for sharing it..

    I checked the home page prob...but cudnt find anything..sometimes blogger acts weird..:(

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  46. Nash, yummy and lovely. Perfectly baked tarts. Loved all the snaps. Mostly loved the flower which looks like jasmine... :)

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  47. AnonymousJuly 26, 2011

    Lovely recipe.. and awesome snaps.. You should start a tutorial on photography soon..

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  48. Gorgeous crumble looks delicious.

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  49. Wow! that looks fantastic. Very very beautiful pics, I can stare these all day long :)

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  50. Such a spectacular crumble! I love for any type of fruit crumble, crisp, cobbler, pie. Loved your space.

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  51. Super Nice..Yummmy..you are amazing my sweeeet friend..keep sharing!!!

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  52. beautiful pictures of a beautiful dish :)

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  53. Thank y'all for your comments and support. You are so, so sweet!

    Prathibha, I'm just like you, I too have a weakness for cute silverware :)

    Hey butterfly, those sepia flowers are actually tulsi (basil) flowers.

    Hi Akila, thanks for your generous comments and support!

    Kankana, I shot next to a glass door with the light coming from the background. Just the way I like it :)

    Nisa, when I’m in your neighborhood maybe I’ll give you a call ;)

    Suja, yes, you should try it!

    Sweet Gayathri, thanks for the critique! Nope, I didn’t have any particular reason for placing the pics as such… or phaps I did want variety!!? Any suggestions? As for the SLR, sigh!

    Anita, I have been seriously neglecting my garden due to the heat… most of the flowers you see here are from the neighborhood :) Anyways, can’t wait to meet you!

    Reshmi: Nothing gives me greater pleasure than compliments from someone who has actually cooked the recipe- thank you sweetie. As for the baking time, ovens behave differently. And then you don't actually have to brown the biscuits per the original recipe. But I'll say, go ahead and have it the way you like.. :)

    Zari, yep, it’s jasmine. And that too from my garden :)

    @Foodiecorner: Thanks for the suggestion.

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  54. Nashira these are simply beautiful.You are just getting better & better with each click!! Simply lovely!!

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  55. Hey Anamika, so sweet of you to say so. Thanks! I'm looking forward to learning a lot from our flick exercise. Hopefully soon!

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  56. As you have so beautifully show, sometimes the most simple recipes are the most delicious! I LOVE berries of any kind...so great to have a recipe that will work for all of them, depending on what's in season. LOVELY, lovely blog and photos. Can't wait to return....

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  57. Yummm!!!!!!! . I love strawberries , this one looks simple and absolutely gorgeous , goodone Nash :D .

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  58. Luv' n Spoonfuls, thanks sweetness! It'll be a pleasure to hear from you again!

    Thanks Shabs. Hope you are enjoying your vacation back home!

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  59. Absolutely love this..thanks for sharing the sweetness..visit my space whenever time permits..

    Muskaan
    A2Z Healthy Vegetarian Cuisine

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  60. WOW! what stunning photographs you have on your blog. Love it! the dessert looks too tempting!

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A million thank you's for stopping by, taking the time to connect, and coming back to visit again. I genuinely appreciate each of your kind thoughts, lovely words, love and support. Happy, happy to hear from you, and hope to see you again!

♥ Nashi