Easy-to-make summer dessert with mixed berries and a brown sugar almond crumble topping.
My dessert obsessed father was at it again today; he just couldn’t resist this berry crumble recipe by Melissa Clark he found in the New York Times.
He used fresh strawberries, blueberries, and some of our frozen boysenberries.
Our boysenberries tend to be pretty tart, so with the 3 tablespoons of sugar, the crumble ended up rather tart.
Perfect for my dad and me, but my mother complained (“why can’t you make it the way I like it? Why do you always have to make things like this so tart?”)
Mom knows she’s welcome to bake anything she wants the way she likes it, so this conversation didn’t go very far. But check your berries if and when you make this recipe.
Add more or less sugar depending on your preference and how sweet the fruit is.
Berry Almond Crumble Recipe
- Prep time: 20 minutes
- Cook time: 50 minutes
- Yield: Serves 6
Recipe by Melissa Clark of The New York Times.
Instant tapioca is needed as a thickener. You can make this without it, but it will be quite runny. If you don’t have instant tapioca, you can try substituting corn starch.
Ingredients
Filling:
- 8 cups mixed fresh berries: blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, strawberries
- 1 Tbsp quick-cooking tapioca
- 2 to 3 tablespoons granulated sugar, depending upon sweetness of berries
- 1/2 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
Crumble Topping:
- 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/3 cup dark brown sugar
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- A pinch of salt
- 1/2 cup melted butter
- 1/2 cup finely chopped almonds.
Method
1 Preheat oven to 350°F.
2 Mix berries with tapioca, sugar, zest: In a large bowl put berries and mix with tapioca, sugar and lemon zest. (Without tapioca, crumble will be very runny.) Set aside.
3 Make the topping: Whisk together the flour, sugars, spices and salt in a large bowl. Stir in the melted butter and almonds until coarse crumbs form.
4 Assemble: Pour the filling into a 9-inch square or round pan (do not grease first). Using your fingers, form topping mixture into 1/4-inch to 1/2-inch crumbs and spread over cake.
5 Bake: Bake at 350°F until filling bubbles and topping is light golden, about 45-55 minutes.
Let cool at least half an hour. Serve warm.
