The Ultimate Summer Crumble

Too many people say they have the ‘ultimate’ formula for basically everything so I feel like I should perhaps qualify my Ultimate Summer Crumble with a little background.
I love a crumble, because fruit, like most things in life, can only be improved by covering it in sweet carbohydrates. It’s also one of the few dishes that you really can hand on heart say is completely seasonally adaptable to whatever is good for harvesting, just switch between custard or pouring cream to your calendar appropriate preference. Crumble is excellent, evenbefore it has been Boomboomed.

This particular recipe is my ultimate summer crumble because it involves masses of yummy, tangy rhubarb topped with what is basically a slab of flapjack rather than a traditional crumble. That’s right pedants, my ultimate crumble isn’t strictly speaking a crumble at all. Because who wants flour and butter when you can have oats and syrup??? Idiots, that’s who.

Strawberries up the sweetness of the rhubarb a little and cardamom gives a subtle floral warmth to the mix that stops it becoming sickly. But don’t fear, it is anything but light and I promise you that thick flapjack topping will surely leave you satiated/stuffed and ready for a snooze in the shade somewhere at the quiet end of the garden, as all good summer desserts should.
Enjoy.

Boomboom Summer Crumble

Serves 8

300g oats

220g butter
240g plain flour
100g flaked almonds
50g golden syrup
90g light brown sugar
750g rhubarb
400g strawberries
3tbspn golden caster sugar
4 cardamom pods.

Start by removing the seeds from the cardamom pods and grinding these in a pestle and mortar/posh electronic spice grinding machine thing. Once to a consistency of fresh ground black pepper (or finer, if you can be bothered) add this to a saucepan with the golden caster sugar and roughly chopped rhubarb and a splash of water. Seriously, just a splash. Leave on a medium heat, stirring regularly until the rhubarb begins to soften.
Hull then roughly chop the strawberries and put these into your pie dish then pour over the rhubarb mix.

Put the oven on to 180 C conventional/ 160 fan.

Combine flour, oats and almonds in a large mixing bowl. Combine the butter, syrup and light brown sugar in a saucepand and heat on low, stirring constantly until the butter is melted and the sugar dissolved. Pour this into the dry mix and stir until thoroughly combined. The resulting mix is fairly hefty and will set so don’t hang around! Spoon the mix over the fruit filling and spread gently with a palette knife/back of a dessert spoon to cover all the fruit.

Bake uncovered for 25-35 minutes until the topping is cooked through and golden brown. Serve hot with good quality vanilla ice cream or pouring cream- this goes very well with Oatly Cream too if you are veganising. If you have any leftovers refrigerate overnight and you will find yourself with a ready made, super indulgent breakfast!

Variations- add other summer berries or gooseberries to the fruit mix and drop the cardamom or for a standard apple crumble use some decent apples, a shake of cinnamon and a handful of sultanas. To go vegan swap the butter for a vegan margarine that is suitable for baking, I would not reccomend coconut oil for this recipe.