PEAR & CHOCOLATE CRUMBLE...perfect for the season!

This season, some of my favourite fruits have vanished from the scene...but some not-so favourite ones before, are becoming my favourites now :-)  Pear is one amongst them. Yes, they are crunchy, sweet and juicy but they just cannot beat the Bing Cherries! Surprisingly, one of my friends, kind of hates cherries. Umm..so maybe it depends from person to person.
Crumbles are a firm favourite with us. I have made a Cherry crumble before and Jobin was hooked on to it. Then I made an Apple crumble which never appeared on the blog because it was a big hit amongst Jobin and his mom. We dug into the bowls like there was no tomorrow! :-)

Everytime I go near the produce section of our supermaket, I become very slow. I drag the cart along. Jobin sometimes seem to be lost ,thinking why do I behave like that everytime 'all of a sudden'...you know like the 'slow motion' scenes in movies? Hehe,I love  looking at all the colourful fruits that we get here and those we never get in India. I somehow enjoy taking a stroll around the fruits and thinking about what I can possibly do with each one of them...but in reality, it rarely happens because I can get very lazy at times and eat the fruit as it is! :)

This time, it was Pear & Chocolate Crumble for our 'Sweet Punch' bake for the month of December.We all were given a recipe but I chose to go with my own measurements. It is so perfect for these cold days that we are having right now in Minneapolis.We need something warm to keep us warm...be it dessert or clothes!

PEAR & CHOCOLATE CRUMBLE
My own recipe
Serves-2

Ingredients:
2 pears, peeled, cored and chopped into 1" pieces
Sugar to taste
1 tsp lime juice
3 oz milk chocolate, roughly chopped

For the crumble:
1/2 c all purpose flour
1/2 c oatmeal, crushed by hand
Sugar to taste (use light/dark brown sugar, if available)
1 tbsp cold unsalted butter, diced
2 tbsp almond slivers, broken up

Method:
Pre- heat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas mark 4.Grease 6 oven proof ramekins.
In a bowl, mix together the chopped pears,sugar,lime juice and half the chocolate.Divide them equally among the ramekins,spooning over any remaining juice.
For making the crumble,mix together flour and butter and rub it with your fingertips till it resembles fine breadcrumbs. Stir in rest of the ingredients.
Spoon the crumble over the pears. I always like to make extra topping,so that there is a good crunch all the way.
Transfer the crumble to a baking sheet and bake for 30-40 minutes or until golden and bubbly.
Serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.

Verdict: Jobin eyebrows shot up as he took the first bite.I closed my eyes and enjoyed the chocolate and pear combo...
In Jobin's words,' It was a very yummy dessert!' :) As always,we loved the crumble, maybe a bit more this time...because of chocolate!

I am sending this dessert as an entry to Monthly Mingle- Chocolate Extravaganza hosted by myself :-)

CHERRY CRUMBLE

Burp! Oopsie! I should have known that would happen when I gorged on those red beauties. I just don't seem to get enough of it. Ripe.Sweet. Juicy. That's exactly how I would describe the cherries that we get here now. Too good! Everytime I buy them, I plan to bake with it. But it never happened until now.

As I picked the cherries and popped them into the bag, I was already making plans of baking a crumble with it. I can sometimes be so oblivious  because I am busy planning my next move! ;-)

I love warm desserts and cold too...basically I love desserts. So there is no way that I'll turn away from a dessert unless it has weird ingredients like prawns or something! Wait! I wasn't kidding! Last year we had a cake competition in Kannur and my mom participated for it. And me being an onlooker went around reading the name of the other participants and their cakes. My face twitched when I read 'Prawn and Almond Cake'. I thought it must have been a typo and it should have been 'Prune and Almond Cake ' (so much more soothing for the ears!).

Well, it was not a typo and when she presented her cake for judgement, we both could see bits and pieces of prawn sticking out of the cake! Eeeww! That was my instant reaction. I have no idea how the judges ate that! Anyway, my mom bagged the price and we went home happy! :-)

CHERRY CRUMBLE
Recipe source : My Baking Addiction

Ingredients:
2 cups pitted cherries
1/2 c sugar
2 tbsp flour


For the topping:
1/2 cup oats
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1/8 tsp baking powder & baking soda
1/4 cup butter, melted

Method:

• For the filling: Mix fruits, flour and sugar together and divide them among 4 ramekins.
• For the topping: Mix all the dry ingredients together and pour in melted butter. Mix well and top the fruits completely with it.
• Bake in a pre-heated oven  at 350 F /180 C for 35 mins or until the topping is golden brown in colour.
• Serve warm or at room temperature.

Verdict: I must be repeating myself,but I don't care! We loved it very much. I loved the crunch of the crumble topping and the sweeteness of the soft cherries beneath it.
Make sure you choose the right fruit,if it's over ripe it will be a mushy business.