I always need to have some kind of sweet baked delight around the apartment to help keep my sweet tooth satisfied. Madeleines are usually my go-to homemade confection, but all the pears I had been snacking on lately prompted my hankering for a warm and comforting sweet, and if it celebrated the bounty of the season, even better.
Ginger is my favorite spice and it’s no secret that coupling it with pears is always a win, so I got my pear and ginger crumble on. I’ve experimented with apple crumbles more than enough and have enjoyed my fair share of pears, so I gave it a whirl. Here’s the pear and ginger crumble recipe I settled on after some trial and error. It’s super easy (no crust required) and leaves me with a sweet confection to have on hand morning, noon and night.
Ingredients:
For the stewed pears
6 Bosc pears
7 grams freshly grated ginger
100 grams sugar
1 cinnamon stick
For the crumble topping:
3/4 cup (94g) all purpose flour
2 tablespoons (25 grams) white sugar
½ cup tightly packed brown sugar
2 tsp (approximately 11.5 grams) salt
½ teaspoon (2.5 grams) ground cinnamon
½ tsp (2.5 grams) ground ginger
6 tablespoons (85 grams) unsalted butter of butter cold (6 tablespoons)
Powdered sugar (optional)
Lemon juice (to prevent pears from oxidizing)
To make the stewed pears:
- Peel and core the pear, then slice the pears and place the slices in the sauce pan. Since pears oxidize super fast, I place fresh lemon juice over the pears in the sauce pan before moving on to the next pear, and repeat until all the pears are in the saucepan.
- Add the grated ginger and cinnamon stick, then turn on the heat.
- Stir constantly, letting the pears stew from 7 to ten minutes, until the pears are soft.
To make the topping:
- Whisk the dry ingredients (flour, sugars, cinnamon, ginger)
- Chop the cold butter into tiny cubes
- Mix the cold cubes with the dry ingredients with your hands, until mixture takes on a course, choppy texture. Take care not to let the butter get too soft as a result of the touch of your hands.
Put it all together:
- Preheat oven to 180 degrees
- Line a baking pan that’s approximately 8″ x 5″ with butter
- Place the pears in the pan, then add the crumble topping
- Cook for about 45 minutes; the top should be golden, crispy and bubbly
- Take out and serve hot or let cool
- Cover with powdered sugar, if you wish
