Pear, Blueberry & Ginger Crumble with Cardamom Oat Custard

Winter is officially closing in, with its threats of snow and frigid temps. It’s time to wrap up warm, light a fire and fill your bellies with warming wintry food. Here’s a recipe to try, written for our friends over at Rude Health using their delicious Naked Barley Porridge, if you’re looking for something warming this weekend. There’s nothing that says warming more than sticky baked pears, a bit of fiery ginger and toasted barley along with a good drench of comforting custard. Be sure to leave the blueberries whole, as they plump when cooking and burst in your mouth--probably our favourite bit. Wrap up and enjoy!

Total Time: 1 h 15 m I Prep: 15 m I Cook: 1 h I Difficulty: Moderate

Pear, Blueberry, Ginger & Barley Crumble

A simple, seasonal crumble using barley flakes instead of oats. The barley adds a crunchy, nutty flavour and is the star of the wholegrain, seeded topping. Feel free to get creative with the fruit filling to make depending on the season, and make the crumble gluten free by substituting oat flour, if you wish. The crumble has just the right balance of sweetness and heartiness to make this recipe a filling, wholesome and delicious desert (or breakfast, we won’t tell).

Ingredients

• 3 ripe pears, sliced
• 150g blueberries
• Zest of 1 orange
• Juice of half an orange
• 2 cm piece ginger, grated
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon ground cardamom
• 1 tablespoon whole grain flour
• ½ tablespoon coconut sugar/ raw cane sugar

Topping

• 75g Rude Health Naked Barley Flakes
• 75g whole grain flour (we used the Rude Health Sprouted Spelt)
• 75g mixed seeds
• 75g coconut sugar/raw cane sugar
• 75g coconut oil (or 60g of butter)
• 1 tsp cinnamon

Method

• Preheat the oven to 180C (fan).
• Combine the ingredients for the filling into a bowl and mix until well combined. Put the filling in a rectangular oven-proof dish (approx 27cm).
• Using your hands, combine the ingredients for the topping, making sure to incorporate the coconut oil until you have a breadcrumb-like mixture.
• Sprinkle the topping over the filling and place the dish in the oven. Bake for 25-30 minutes until the fruit filling bubbles and the topping is golden and crisp.
• Serve warm with the cardamom custard below. Ice cream or cream (dairy or non) would work too.

Cardamom Oat Custard

A non-dairy custard that is subtly sweet, easy to make and miles better than the stuff in the packet.

Ingredients

• 300 ml oat cream
• 300ml oat milk
• 6 cardamom pods
• 4 eggs yolks
• 1 ½-2 tablespoons honey/maple syrup
• 1 tablespoon corn flour

Method

• Put the cream, milk, cardamom in a saucepan and heat until steaming. Remove from the heat and cover. Let the cream infuse for 20 minutes.
• In a large bowl, whisk the egg yolks and honey then whisk in the flour. Pour a bit of the heated milk into the egg mixture and whisk to incorporate. Gradually add the remaining milking, whisking to combine.
• Rinse out the pan and pour the milk and egg mixture back into the pan through a sieve. Cook the mixture over a low to medium heat for 4-5 minutes until it thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon. Serve warm.