Make the most of seasonal fruits with this festive crumble recipe. Top with vegan vanilla ice cream or custard for an easy and comforting winter dessert.
The crumble topping is lightly spiced with the warming flavours of cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and allspice which go beautifully with the sweet persimmon and tart apples and cranberries. This is literally one of the easiest and most satisfying desserts to make, and you can prepare the filling and topping in advance if you're short on time.
How does this crumble taste?
A warm and bubbly apple, persimmon and cranberry compote is spiced with cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice. The compote is topped with a flapjack style spiced crumble topping. The addition of the oats and demerara sugar makes the topping extra crispy. Sweet, warm winter fruits topped with a lightly spiced crispy topping – what’s not to love about that?!
What Apples to Use?
I’ve used Granny Smith apples for this recipe, but you can use other verities of apples. They are of one of my favourite apples to use in baking and cooking as the they retain their flavour and texture very well. Other varieties of apples you could use are Bramley, Honeycrisp, Golden Delicious and Rome, though you may need to add a bit of lemon juice to adjust the tartness.
What to Serve with Apple, Persimmon and Cranberry Crumble
Serve this comforting and delicious Winter Crumble with vegan ice cream, vegan cream or a warm custard.
How to Store Crumble
This crumble is best eaten on the day its baked, as the crumble topping will lose its crispness the longer it’s left to wait. If you’re not serving it right away, you can store it for 2-3 days in an airtight container at room temperature. I wouldn’t suggest storing it in the fridge as this case cause the crumble to become too hard.
Can this Crumble be Frozen?
Yes, you can freeze this crumble, but as I’ve mentioned before, it’s best served fresh. If you’re going to freeze it, place it in a container or wrap in in cling film, and store in the freezer for up to a month. To defrost the crumble, remove it from the freezer and leave out room temperature for around 4 hours, or until it’s thawed.
Apple, Persimmon and Cranberry Crumble Ingredients
Here’s everything you’ll need for this recipe – consider it your shopping list!
For the crumble topping:
Plain flour: Make sure to use plain flour and not self-raising flour. You could also use wholemeal flour to make the crumble.
Sugar: I’ve used brown sugar, but you can use any sugar of your choice, Dark brown sugar or coconut sugar also work well and add a nice caramel flavour to the crumble.
Vegan block butter: I used the Flora vegan butter block, but ant plant-based butter will do. I wouldn’t recommend using margarine as it won’t create the same outcome.
spices: A bit of ground cinnamon adds a lovely flavour and aroma to the crumble, but if you’re not a fan of cinnamon, you can omit this ingredient.
Orange zest: the orange zest add a lovely citrusy twist and the fresh taste compliments the warming spices
Oats: you’ll need rolled oats. The oats help to give the crumble extra crispness.
Demerara Sugar: This ingredient is optional, but I find that when you sprinkle some demerara sugar over the crumble before baking, it adds a lovely crisp texture and gives a lovely golden colour after it’s been baked.
For the fruit compote:
Apples - I’ve used Granny Smith apples for this recipe, but you can use other verities of apples. They are of one of my favourite apples to use in baking and cooking as the they retain their flavour and texture very well. Other varieties of apples you could use are Bramley, Honeycrisp, Golden Delicious and Rome, though you may need to add a bit of lemon juice to adjust the tartness.
Persimmons - You'll need some fresh, ripe persimmons. If you're not able to find persimmons, you can substitute them with a few extra apples.
Cranberries - A lovely way to use up leftover cranberries. You can use fresh, frozen or dried cranberries for this recipe.
Sugar: I've used caster sugar as it dissolves faster than granulated sugar. I've wouldn't recommend using fruit syrups as they'll darken the colour of the filling.
Orange juice: The orange juice helps to balance out the sweetness and also brings out the tartness of the apples.
Vanilla extract: The vanilla extract gives the fruits a lovely flavour and aroma.
Cornstarch: Cornstarch is used to thicken the liquid which will come out of the fruits as they bake. You could use tapioca starch as an alternative.
Spices: A combination of cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and allspice adds a lovely, warming flavour to the fruit compote.
How to Make Apple, Persimmon and Cranberry Crumble
STEP 1:
Preheat the oven to 180°c (160 fan/ Gas 4). Peel and core the apples, then cut into 1cm cubes. Peel the persimmons and cut into small chunks. Place the prepared apples, persimmons, cranberries , sugar, cornstarch, vanilla extract, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, allspice, orange zest and orange juice into a medium oven dish and give everything a gentle mix. Place in the oven to bake for about 30-35 minutes, until the fruit starts to bubble, and the apples have softened slightly.
STEP 2:
To make the crumble topping, add the flour, oats, sugar, cinnamon, orange zest and chilled butter in a mixing bowl. Rub the butter into the flour and oats using your fingertips to make a light breadcrumb texture. Do not overwork it or the crumble will become too dense.
STEP 3:
Take the baked fruit compote out of the oven and spoon the crumble mixture onto the fruit, then scatter 1 tbsp demerara sugar over the crumble topping. Place the dish back in the oven to bake for another 15-20 minutes, or until the top becomes crisp and golden. Serve warm with a scoop of vegan ice cream or a vegan custard.
Notes and Tips
I recommend using the gram measurements, rather than the cup conversions. When it comes to baking, accuracy is key, and cups conversions are never as accurate as grams.
For a crispy crumble topping, don’t overwork the crumble and make sure to use chilled butter.