Crumbles have always been a family favourite. Get in quick while the last of the tamarillos are around and combine with some juicy pears to create a heart-warming dessert. Encasing it in a pre-cooked pastry base adds crunch and a delicious nutty topping adds texture. This is a slight variation on my grandfather’s crumble recipe which was flour, sugar, butter and cinnamon, also totally delicious. Like all good recipes, they are ageless.
TAMARILLO AND PEAR CRUMBLE TART RECIPE
Serves 8
Pastry
1 cup flour
¼ cup brown sugar pinch salt
70g butter, cubed
1 egg
1 Tbsp cold water
Filling
5 tamarillo, peeled, chopped roughly
¼ cup caster sugar
5 pears, peeled and diced
Zest and juice of ½ lemon
2 tsp cornflour
Crumble
½ cup flour
½ cup rolled oats
½ cup brown sugar
100g butter, melted
1 cup nuts, roughly chopped
- Preheat the oven to 180C.
- To make the pastry, place the flour, sugar, salt and butter into a kitchen processor. Blitz until it resembles breadcrumbs. Add the egg and water. Blitz mix again to form your dough. Roll on a lightly floured bench to fit a 22cm tart tin. Bake the pastry blind for 20 minutes, and cool.
- To make the filling, place the tamarillos and sugar into a bowl and stir. Let them sit for 20 minutes to extract the juices. Add the pear and lemon. Place into the microwave for 3 minutes to soften. Sprinkle over the cornflour, stir and cook for 1 more minute to thicken the juice slightly.
- To make the crumble, combine the flour, oats, sugar, butter and nuts.
- Place the filling in the tart tin, and top with the crumble. Bake for 25 minutes until the crumble is golden.
- Serve with whipped cream or ice cream.
