Prep Time 25min Cook Time 45min
The thing is, crumble is even better than pie. And I say this as a person who really loves pie. The fruit is so insanely gorgeous-at all turns a mix of bright orange and deep red-and it goes so beautifully with that meltingly crisp, brown-sugary crumb topping.
by Catherine Newman
What you'll need
FILLING
- 2 pounds of apricots
- 1 pound of cherries
- 1/4 cup (scant) flour
- 1/3 cup sugar
TOPPING
- 3/4 cup flour
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 stick (1/2 cup) cold salted butter, cut into small pieces
Helpful Tip:
When cherry and apricots aren't in season, you can make it with peaches and blueberries, though you'll want to increase the flour and sugar a bit to compensate for juiciness and tartness.
Notes:
Yields 4-8, depending
How to make it
- Heat the oven to 400. Halve the apricots, pit them, then halve them again into quarters (or, if they're not super-ripe, slice them up a bit more). Pit the cherries. Combine the fruit with 1/4 cup flour and 1/3 cup sugar in a bowl, then tip it into a baking dish. (Don't fret if there's some dry flour and sugar kicking around-it will all dissolve as it cooks.)
- Make the topping: Combine the flour, brown sugar, and salt in a mixing bowl, then add the butter and work it in with your fingers: first toss to coat it with the flour mixture, then take off your rings and use your fingertips to rub the butter into the dry ingredients. This is a messy but not unpleasant job: you'll be lifting handfuls of the mixture up out of the bowl, then gently letting it fall through your fingertips as you rub it lightly together. Eventually, you'll have a bowl full of clumpy lumpy crumble topping.
- Crumble the, er, crumble over the, uh, crumble, then bake it in the oven for 40-45 minutes until it is browned and bubbling. Serve hot, warm, room temperature, or cold with ice cream or whipped cream.
