Pear, Cardamom and Almond Crumble

A hearty and comforting autumnal dessert that is packed with cardamom, cinnamon, sticky pears and a healthy, gluten-free and nutty crumble. Perfect for a cosy treat for friends and family and is easy to make in one bowl in less than 45 minutes.

Everyone loves a crumble, right? And as the temperatures dip slowly and autumn is upon us, crumble seems the obvious thing to be baking at the weekend. As well as everything pumpkin pie spiced, right? There are a few things I love about crumble for dessert and one of them has to be the nostalgia. This is such a family-favourite and I am pretty sure that most of you will have fond crumble memories. I’d love to hear them… Apple is probably my favourite from my childhood, but I also remember how sweet and heavy they were. I also remember making lots of plum crumbles for food technology classes at school and playing around with lots of toppings variations in my teens.

Pear, Cardamom and Almond Crumble

Pear, Cardamom and Almond Crumble

So, with this recipe, I wanted to make something that carried with it the nostalgic sensations of a much-loved dessert without the sickly sugar overload. I think I’ve found a great balance with this Pear, Cardamom and Almond Crumble.

The base is naturally sweet with chopped pears and a tiny drizzle of syrup as well as some orange juice for a light tang. The warming flavours also help to sweeten the base which are ground cinnamon, cardamom and clove… they make for the most wonderful aromas to fill your kitchen. I add in some arrowroot powder (or corn starch) to the fruit mix to make it slightly stickier and with a good level of “gloopiness” to the mix – it really is a great addition.

Bake the fruit for 20 minutes while you prepare the simple and healthful crumble topping. There’s no butter or flour in sight! I love using oats for a chunkier crumble topping that feels almost like flapjack when you throw in the chopped almonds, crunchy buckwheat groats and the desiccated coconut. A little melted coconut oil and syrup brings the dry mix together which turns so lovely and golden in the oven.

This Pear, Cardamom and Almond Crumble is such a simple and easy dessert to make and is certainly a crowd-pleaser. Serve it warm with custard or ice cream or save it for breakfast the next day with yoghurt and fresh fruit.

Pear, Cardamom and Almond Crumble

It’s gluten-free, simple, quick and easy to make and is a real family favourite for dessert. If you are looking for more desserts, how about my Vegan Cinnamon and Cardamom Bread and Butter Pudding, Mint Chocolate Avocado Mouse Pots or Raw Lemon and Pistachio Cheesecake.

Pear, Cardamom and Almond Crumble

• Servings: 4-6
• Time: 40 minutes
• Difficulty: easy
• Print

A hearty and comforting autumnal dessert that is packed with cardamom cinnamon sticky pears and a healthy, gluten-free and nutty crumble. Perfect for a cosy treat for friends and family and is easy to make in one bowl in less than 45 minutes.

Ingredients

• 4 pears, chopped
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground cardamom
• 1/4 tsp ground clove
• 2 tbsp orange juice
• 2 tbsp arrowroot powder
• 1 tbsp maple syrup
• 100g oats
• 100g almonds, chopped
• 50g buckwheat groats
• 40g desiccated coconut
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 50g melted coconut oil
• 1 tbsp maple syrup

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 160 Fan/180*C and prepare a baking dish.
2. Chop the pears into small chunks and toss with the cinnamon, ground cardamom, ground clove, orange juice, arrowroot powder and the syrup. Bake in the dish for 20 minutes.
3. Meanwhile prepare the crumble topping. Stir together the oats, chopped almonds, buckwheat groats, desiccated coconut, cinnamon, melted coconut oil and syrup until combined. Pour over the baked pears and bake for another 20 minutes.
4. Enjoy warm or cold!

Pear, Cardamom and Almond Crumble

I hope you will love this Pear, Cardamom and Almond Crumble – let me know what you think if you make and tag me in your creations. I’m @nourishing.amy on Instagram and use the hashtag #nourishingamy. You can also find me on Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest – do say hi!

With crumbles of love x

p.s. I first made this recipe for Balance Magazine – check it out here.