Pear Crumble
Pear crumble is a warm, comforting dessert that combines the natural sweetness and softness of baked pears with a crunchy, buttery topping. The juicy pears, often mixed with brown sugar, lemon juice, and spices, form the base of the dish, releasing their flavour as they bake. The crumbly topping, made from a blend of flour, sugar, and cold butter, adds a satisfying contrast to the tender fruit. When baked, the topping becomes golden and crisp, perfectly complementing the juicy, sweet pears beneath. Served warm, often with a scoop of ice cream or a dollop of whipped cream, pear crumble is a delightful, rustic treat.
In this blog post, you will learn how to make a pear crumble.
How to Make the Pear Filling?
This pear crumble recipe uses canned pears. Strain your canned pears through a sieve and put them into a large mixing bowl. You will not need the pear juice for this recipe. Add your brown sugar, corn flour, vanilla extract, lemon juice and cinnamon to the pears and give them a good mix until your pears are nicely coated. I like to let my pears macerate for a little bit but it is not a rule. When they are done macerating, pour the pear filling into a greased 9”x9” pan.
How to Make the Crumble topping?
The crumble topping is made up of flour, sugar, and butter. Mix the flour and sugar together well. Then you will want to cut in the butter. The butter should be removed from the fridge right before you need it because it needs to be very cold.
How Do I Cut in Butter?
Cutting in butter is a technique that you can either do with a pastry cutter, two knives, or your hand and some elbow grease. Cutting in butter means to take cold butter and mix it with dry ingredients to create a crumbly texture. Here is how to cut in your butter.
Instructions
- Start with Cold Butter: Use butter that is cold and straight from the refrigerator. Cold butter creates pockets of fat in the dough as it melts during baking, resulting in a tender and flaky texture.
- Cube the Butter: Cut the cold butter into small cubes about 1/2 inch in size. Consequently, this makes it easier to incorporate into the dry ingredients.
- Combine with Dry Ingredients: In a mixing bowl, combine the cubed butter with your flour and sugar. Use a pastry blender, two knives, or your fingertips to work the butter into the dry ingredients.
- Pastry Blender Method: use a pastry blender to cut the butter into the dry ingredients. By holding it in one hand and using it to cut through the butter and flour mixture, the butter will be evenly distributed, and the mixture will resemble coarse crumbs.
- Two Knives Method: Alternatively, you can use two knives to cut the butter into the dry ingredients. Hold a knife in each hand and use a slicing motion to cut the butter into the flour till it resembles coarse crumbs.
- Fingertips Method: you can also use your fingertips to rub the butter into the flour mixture. Rub the butter and flour between your fingertips until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
- Stop When Crumbly: Continue cutting in the butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs with some larger pea-sized pieces of butter are remaining. Be careful not to overmix, as you want to maintain small pockets of butter in the dough for a flaky texture.
Can I Use Fresh Pears Instead of Canned Pears?
Yes, you can. Pear crumble is a great way to use your fresh pears. You will need the same amount of weight as the canned pears which is about a pound. See the titles below on how to prepare fresh pears.
How to Prepare Fresh Pears?
To prepare fresh pears for a pear pie, follow these steps:
- Select Ripe Pears:
- Choose pears that are ripe but still firm, such as Bosc, Anjou, or Bartlett varieties, for the best texture in your pie.
- Peel the Pears:
- Use a vegetable peeler or paring knife to remove the skin from the pears, as the skin can become tough when baked.
- Core the Pears:
- Slice the pears in half and use a melon baller or a small spoon to remove the core and seeds. Also, cut out the stem.
- Slice the Pears:
- Cut the pears into thin, even slices (about 1/4-inch thick) to ensure they bake evenly and fit well in the pie.
- Toss with Lemon Juice:
- Immediately toss the pear slices with lemon juice to prevent them from browning and to add a bit of acidity to balance the sweetness.
Once prepared, your fresh pears are ready to be used in your pie filling, whether mixed with sugar and spices or placed directly in the crust.
Best Variety of Pears to Use
The best pear varieties for pear pie are those that hold their shape when baked and offer a balance of sweetness and firmness. Here are the top choices:
- Bosc Pears:
- Qualities: Bosc pears are firm and maintain their structure well when baked, making them ideal for pie. They have a slightly sweet, spiced flavour that complements the pie’s spices.
- Anjou Pears (Red or Green):
- Qualities: Anjou pears are juicy with a mild, sweet flavour. They hold up well during baking and provide a soft yet firm texture in the pie.
- Bartlett Pears:
- Qualities: Bartlett pears are juicy and sweet, with a buttery texture. They soften more than other varieties, so they’re best combined with firmer pears like Bosc for texture contrast.
Using a combination of Bosc and Anjou pears often provides the best results. Consequently, this balances flavour and texture in your pear pie.
Interested in Other Pear Desserts? Click on the links below for other great ways to use canned or fresh pears!
Ingredients
Canned Pears: canned pears provide sweetness and soft texture, making the filling of the dish juicy and tender without the need for fresh pears.
Brown Sugar: brown sugar adds a deep, caramel-like sweetness to the filling, enhancing the pears’ flavour and creating a richer taste.
Lemon Juice: lemon juice adds a slight tang and brightens the flavour of the pears while also preventing the filling from becoming too sweet.
Corn Flour: corn flour thickens the pear filling, creating a smooth and cohesive texture as it absorbs excess liquid from the pears.
Vanilla Extract: vanilla extract adds a warm, sweet, and fragrant note that complements the pears and sugar, elevating the flavour profile.
Granulated Sugar: granulated sugar adds sweetness to the crust or any topping, providing a light crunch or additional sweetness to balance the flavours.
All-Purpose/Plain Flour: all-purpose/plain flour is used to bind or structure the crust or crumble. This helps to create a firm texture or to lightly coat the pears to absorb moisture.
Unsalted Butter: unsalted butter adds richness and helps create a tender, flaky crust or a crisp, buttery crumble topping when baked. It enhances the overall flavour and texture of the dessert.
Tips
- If using fresh pears, make to sure to coat them in lemon juice once the skin is removed to prevent the flesh from browning.
Pear Crumble
Ingredients
Pear Filling
- 2 Cans of pears each weighing 8 oz.
- 1/4 c. brown sugar
- 1 tsp. lemon juice
- 2 tbsp. corn flour
- 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1 tsp. cinnamon
Crumble Topping
- 1/2 c. sugar granulated
- 1 c. all-purpose/plain flour
- 1/2 c. butter unsalted (115g)
Instructions
- Drain the pears from their juice and place them into a large bowl. (The pear juice will not be needed for this recipe.)
- Add to the pears the brown sugar, lemon juice, corn flour, vanilla extract, and cinnamon. Mix together and let macerate.
- In a separate bowl, mix the granulated sugar and all-purpose/plain flour together. Next, cut in the butter until only small pea sized pieces of butter are left.
- Preheat oven to 375℉/190℃/Gas Mark 5.
- Take a 9”x9” dish and grease with either non-stick spray or butter. Pour into the greased dish the pear filling. Sprinkle the crumble topping onto the top of pear filling.
- Bake for 1 hour until the filling is bubbling. Remove from the oven and serve with ice cream!
Notes
In this blog post, you learned how to make a pear crumble.