Jammy fruit with crunchy crumble can never ever be a bad thing and when you add oats for more texture, cinnamon for a warming, watch-the-rain-while-you-eat kind of flavour and manage to have a delicious but still mildly sweetened dessert, it’s quite a win. And while we’re on the subject of sweetness, if you’re not adding vanilla ice cream, you’re doing it wrong. Let’s make some crumble!

Crumbles are one of the easiest things to make. They need basic ingredients, work with many different fruits, the topping comes together quickly and there’s no waiting around for it to cool because it should be eaten warm from the oven, when the crumble is at its crumbly, crunchy best and the ice cream melts down to make a soupy mess that is honestly my favourite part.

To get the topping really nice and toasted, I switch to the broil setting for a couple of minutes but know that the part that is closest to all the peach juices will always be on the softer side. Once covered and refrigerated, the topping is likely to lose most of the crunch so if you’re somehow resisting eating this the second its baked, reheat it in the oven to restore the texture a bit.

The cherries can be left out but they do add a lot of flavour and also a pretty pink hue to the whole thing! Oats are great here, they also get toasted more than the flour so they help with the texture even the next day. Make this while the season is on!

Peach Cherry Crumble

Fresh peaches and cherries baked with an oat crumble topping

Prep Time: 20

Cook Time: 50

Total Time: 1 10

Makes: 4 large servings

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Ingredients

For the fruit

6 to 7 ripe peaches
15 cherries
Pinch of cinnamon powder
1 to 2 tbsps caster sugar, depending on sweetness of fruit

For the topping

1/2 cup all-purpose flour (60 gms)
1/4 tsp salt if using unsalted butter
Pinch of cinnamon powder
3 tbsps caster sugar
1/4 cup cold butter (55 gms)
1/4 cup rolled oats (20 gms)

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 180 C. Prepare the fruit by peeling (not necessary) the peaches, slicing them in half vertically and gently twisting to make it easier to remove the stone. Slice each half into roughly 1/4 inch thick pieces. Remove the stems of the cherries and slice them in half as well to remove the stone, but don't cut them further.
Now spread the sliced peaches and halved cherries into an 8 inch skillet or round baking dish. Add the cinnamon and sugar and stir gently to combine.
Make the crumble topping. In a mixing bowl, stir together the flour, sugar and cinnamon. Add the cold, cubed butter and use your fingers to rub it into the flour until all the flour is moistened and it resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Stir in the oats.
Scatter the crumble topping evenly over the fruit (see photos below), making some larger clumps as you go which will add to the crunch. Make sure the fruit is completely covered.
Bake for 45 minutes until the fruit juices are bubbling around the edges and the top is browning. You can bake for 5 to 10 minutes extra for more colour but I find it more effective to reduce the temperature to 150 C and switch to the broil setting for 2 to 3 minutes and this also adds to the crunch.
Let the crumble cool for about 15 minutes which gives the juices a chance to thicken and the topping to firm up. Dig in and don't forget the vanilla ice cream!
This crumble is best eaten when fresh as that's when the topping has the most crunch and texture. However, leftovers must be stored in the fridge for 3 to 4 days. The juices will soften the crumble but you can crisp it back a little in a warm oven at about 150 C. Happy baking!