APPLE & VANILLA FRANGIPANE TART

I have no words to tell you how much I love this dessert! This is just beyond awesome! A few ingredients when mixed together and baked can create such a wonderful smelling delicious soft dessert. Plus, it includes fruits too! You can make it with apples, pears, peaches, apricots, nectrarines, plums etc. I am not sure whether the tropical fruits would go well with it but there's no harm in trying for sure :-)



We had a small get together at home on Friday.I made some appetizer and a dessert. As I was planning what to bake for dessert, I knew 2 things for sure. I will be making use of those apples sitting in the fridge and those apples will be made use in the form of a tart. Phew! You see, it's a big achievement for me to decide on what to do ahead of time because being a Gemini is not that easy ;-) Oh! That reminds me...there are birthdays coming up! :-)

So tart it is. Now what tart? Should I go for a shortcrust pastry base or should I go for a puff pastry base? The latter sounded very exciting because I already had a sheet of puff pastry in the fridge. Wait a minute! I have to blog about what I am making so no, I am not going to use that readymade puff pastry sheet now :-)
Alrite, I shall stick with the shortcrust pastry then. Hmm, now what kind of filling should it be? Custard? Frangipane? Fruit compote?



After raking my brains, for whatever reason it maybe, I decided to go with a Frangipane filling. I remember baking a Bakewell Tart not so long ago and I really loved it. I have a soft spot for things made with jam. Not too much but a hint is perfect. I've baked quite a lot of things with a jam filling in my life and they are all here, on the blog. Jam Tarts are my forever favourites! I think I'll take a of it box with me when I die, just in case I get bored out there!

VANILLA & APPLE FRANGIPANE TART
Serves 6

Ingredients
For the pastry:
175 g flour/maida
50 g oatmeal, powdered fine
1/2 tsp salt
1 stick unsalted butter, very cold
2 egg yolks, beaten
1 tsp vanilla
2 tbsp ice cold water

Method: Preheat the oven to 350 F and get the tart tin ready. I used a rectangular shaped one. You can also use a circular shaped tin but you may have to double the filling recipe.

In a bowl, whisk the dry ingredients together. Using the biggest holes on your box grater, grate the cold butter into the flour and rub it into the flour with your fingertips until it resembles breadcrumbs. Add the beaten yolks + vanilla and quickly mix it into the flour.Keep mixing while dribbling in the cold water, only adding enough just to bring the dough together. It will be slightly sticky. Form into a disc and wrap in plastic. Refrigerate for 30 mins. Roll it out on a lightly floured surface and line your tart tin. Freeze it for 20 mins while you get the filling ready.

For the Frangipane
70 g unsalted butter, softened
70g almond meal /almond powder
1 egg
2 tbsp flour
1 vanilla bean, scraped out / 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Method: Cream butter and sugar for a minute. Add the egg and beat for another 30 seconds. Add the vanilla,almond flour and plain flour and beat well on high for a minute. Pour into the tart tin and spread it with an offset spatula.

Arrange apples, maybe 2-3 over it as shown or as desired and bake the tart for 25-30 mins or until the frangipane has puffed up and is golden brown in colour.

I urge you all to try this dessert right away and eat it warm. I had a tub of ice cream, Dulce De Leche & Vanilla and it was just too perfect along with this awesome apple dessert.If you have been around here for a while, you will know that I wasn't a fan of baked apple goodies until I baked that Apple & Cardamom Cake. This is better than that! Can you imagine?? No? Bake some and see for yourself ;-)

GIVEAWAY(S) !! CAKE, COOKIES & some more!

Those of you who have been reading this blog of mine, for a while, will clearly know my favourite month of any year! It's December! Even though we are just in November and when people are gearing up for Thankgiving, I'm waiting for the day after Thanksgiving so that the FM stations starts playing Christmas Carols 24/7 ! I am waiting for it to snow when I listen to 'I'm dreaming of a White Christmas' since I've always pictured Christmas to be full of snow on evergreens and sloping roofs of houses. Cannot blame me, blame the Christmas cards we get in India ;-)

Anyway, I'm back ,after almost a one month break. So much happened in between. I got back to Minneapolis on 19th October and the very next day we got the keys to our own Condo in Downtown Minneapolis :-) Then the remaining days of October was busy spent packing up, teaching a class of 25 at the same place where I taught before I left for India in July & finally moving to our new place on 28th October. From 28th till yesterday, it was just unpacking and days without internet. I must say, I never missed being online, catching up with my friends because I was so busy planning where to place our new furniture, crockery etc in our brand new home! The only thing that was giving me company was F.R.I.E.N.D.S. I love that show! I really wish they ran forever! :)

Now, let's get back to the topic, shall we? Well, some of you have baked it at home beofre and I have baked it many many times including last month for a Magazine shoot. That's the best thing to bake during Christmas.Any guesses what that thing could be? No? It's my Christmas Fruit cake, people! Yes, I am giving away a 6 inch Ria-baked Christmas Fruit Cake for ONE lucky reader of mine! Don't forget to make a claim for it because I can honestly say, that's the best Fruit Cake you will ever ever eat! My Amma, a hater of Fruit Cakes claims it to be the best :-) So that's going to be Giveaway no.1 :-)

Hmmm, now since it's gonna be Christmas time and we all since atleast some of us love Gingerbread Man, I'm giving away a dozen of  Ria-baked Gingerbread Man, yes with full decor on them to another ONE lucky reader of mine. That's Giveaway no.2 :-)

                                                        (Photo courtesy -Anu Menon)
So a few months back, Anu and I were chatting away on Twitter and as we discussed life and other things, she asked me if she could join me in my monthly giveaways (which I have not been doing for a while!).I was so happy about the offer and I instantly agreed! As you all know, I am a big fan of everything handmade and all things homemade! Anu knew that and therefore offered me an IPad Crochet cover which she stitched to be given away for my dear readers! How cool is that? Very cool! So that's going to be the Giveaway no. 3 :-)

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
For entering the giveaway :
1. Tell me your best memories of Christmas or even the month of December! Is it your wedding anniversary? Is it your birthday? My Grandmother's birthday was on December 25 th! :) Whatever it is, tell me...don't worry, your chances of winning the above mentioned 3 things does NOT depend on the length of your stories, but definitely it's content :) So write away!

2. Like my page on Facebook  and leave another comment saying so, which gives you an extra chance to win! :-) [ I have to get something cleared out here after reading a comment below.This is just for pure fun, this option! You can totally skip it. I had double thoughts while putting this up but went again just to see how many of you actually do that! If it were for me, I wouldn't like a page just because I want to win a cake or a cookie but only if I really like that page's extension on Facebook. For me, in many cases, I never realised that my favourite blogs had a page on Facebook until they mentioned it on their blogs mostly during giveaways! It did help me at many instances because I get to interact with the author directly over their pages on FB :-)So please decide how you want things to be :-)No hard feelings and no way are you gonna lose your chance to win something I am giving away! I am doing this for you and it will always always always be for you, I am not expecting anything in return :-) This is not a camouflage to get more followers :-)  I did think of taking off this option after reading the comment but decided not to do so because I didn't want to sit back and pretend as if I never wrote a thing like that! I hate pretense! :-)]

3. Now,tell me, what would you really like to win! I have to pick 3 winners and I'm  hoping that it would help me :-)

This giveaway is only for the US residents (rather for an address in US, so you can win it for a cousin, friend or even a pet!)  :-) This giveaway ends on December 10th.

ALL THE BEST!

LIME POUND CAKE for Sweet Punch - Season 2

Do you know how this cake got it's name? In the olden days the main ingredients used for baking this cake measured a  pound each in weight. So one pound flour, one pound butter,one pound eggs,one pound sugar plus the other teeny-weeny bit of leavening agents made the original cake. Amma's Marble Cake is a perfect example for the 'real' pound cake. But these days, things recipes are way too different from the original but the name remains the same.

No complaints whatsoever because this cake was a decadent one. Soft, buttery, lime-y with the perfect crumb! Our apartment was filled with the aroma of citrus when the cake was baking. I would never trade it for something else. Do you like naturally- flavoured cakes or do you like it plain? I like both depending on what mood I am in, mostly. I know one thing for sure, I love cakes, be it simple or decorated.

I had plans of making a simple lime drizzle over this cake but later chose not to. I loved the way the cake looked when it came out of the oven. It had a lovely crack on the top, perfect for a Perfect Pound Cake. I sometimes like the natural designs cakes have on top, like this Sunflower patter on my One Bowl Vanilla Cake. A lot of you thought that it was a deliberate move from my side,no, it wasn't. The oven did it :-)

Coming back to the topic, our baking group, A Sweet Punch completed a year of it's existence and we are starting the Season 2 with this beautiful,decadent cake. This recipe is chosen from The Cake Bible by Rose Levy Beranbum. The cake had the perfect tight crumb and the texture was awesome! You/ve got to try this one. You will fall in love!

LIME POUND CAKE
Makes one loaf

Ingredients:
3 tbsp milk
3 large eggs
Juice & zest  of 1 lime
13 tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/2 c sifted cake flour
3/4 c sugar
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt

Method:
Pre-heat the oven to 350 F and prepare a loaf tin.

In a bowl, whisk together milk, eggs and lime juice. Reserve.
In another mixing bowl, whisk the dry ingredients together (which includes the lime zest).
Add the butter and half the egg-milk mixture to it and mix till the dry ingredients are moistened.Beat on medium speed for a minute. This will help in aerating and developing  the cake's structure. Scrape down the sides.
Add the remaining egg-milk mixture in 2 batches beating for 20 seconds in between each addition. Scrape down the sides again.
Pour the fluffy batter in your pan, smooth the surface and bake for 55 mins or till done. If you are using a fluted pan/bundt pan, keep a check on the baking time (from 35 mins onward).
Cool in the tin for 10 mins, turn out onto a cooling rack and let it cool completely.
Slice and devour!

Verdict: I made this over the weekend for the family who was visiting us. I cut them into thin slices and they vanished! On the Fourth of July, our friends came over and we grilled some Brats & Chicken Wings. I had saved some cake for the occasion, so this time, I served 2 slices each per person with Balsamic Roasted Strawberries, a drizzle of roasted strawberry syrup and a nice big scoop of Vanilla Ice Cream to beat the heat. It was yummy! Serve it any way you want, it will be delicious!

Later we walked along the river and watched the fireworks sitting on the stone arch bridge. It was breathtaking. I took this picture last year when we went to the Farmers Market nearby. It's a beautiful bridge with the Mississippi flowing beneath it.

STRAWBERRY & VANILLA BAVARIAN CREAM GATEAU

Not sure how many of you know about the Minnesotan weather. It's COLD...very very COLD here during winters with the temperature going as low as -40 C. Last winter was my first winter here in the US and from the Day 1 after I moved to Minnesota, whoever knew it was going to be my first winter here said,'It's long', 'It's COLD!', 'Ooooh! You have to experience it!'.

I was prepared for the worst, in my head. Therefore I expected everyday to be worse than the previous day but once it's cold, it's just COLD. It doesn't seem to get any cold-er to me until the wind blows! :-) Jobin made sure we never stayed indoors especially on the weekends, so we used to go sledging and playing in the snow. We always always had a sledge in our car so that if we ever spot a small hill covered with snow, we would stop the car there, pull the sledge out and go sledging! It was fun! I never hated those cold days...all because of him.

Last winter, my first winter lasted loooong. We skipped Spring. I was still wearing a sweater till the end of May and a few days in June. Everyday I'd wait for the sun to make an appearance. Finally we hit Summer and the days are still cloudy and rainy. Not sure whether I'll be around here to witness the Minnesota Summer this year since I'll be home sweet home! I'm trying my best to soak up the sun here...to make sure I get my dose of Vitamin D, naturally...from Mr. SUN.

I baked this cake over the weekend. To honour Summer, I used fresh berries. Strawberries, to be precise. You would have guessed that from the title :-) We had some friends over for dinner on Saturday so this cake was baked for them. I love serving cakes,not plain cakes but layered cakes for our guests,for dessert.

He had to come and touch that layer because he loves Bavarian Cream and you can see that in the picture, above! I have used it before in Jobin's Birthday Gateau & Mocha Bavarian Cream Gateau with Joconde Imprime. It's such an awesome filling for cakes and our guests love it as it is very smooth and not too sweet.It sets well and leaves a lasting impression!

STRAWBERRY & VANILLA BAVARIAN CREAM GATEAU
Serves:10

Ingredients:
For the sponge:
3 eggs
1/2 c sugar
1/2 c all purpose flour
1 tsp vanilla

For the Vanilla Bavarian Cream (Use only half the quantity)
22 g Gelatin
150 ml cold water
5 large egg yolks
125 g granulated sugar
500ml warm milk
8 ml Vanilla Extract
500 ml whipping cream

Soaking Syrup 
1 c sugar and 1 c water boiled together for 2 mins or till sugar dissolves.

Strawberries for lining the cake tin

Method:
For the Vanilla Sponge:
Pre-heat the oven to 350F/ 180C.Prepare an 8" round cake tin.

Beat together the sugar,vanilla and eggs on high speed for 12 mins. Now, they would have tripled in volume.
Fold in the flour and pour into a prepared tin.
Bake for 30 mins or till done.
Cool in tin for 10 mins, turn it onto a cooling rack and cool completely. Cut into 2, horizontally, when cooled.

For the Bavarian Cream:
Soak the gelatin in water. Leave it aside to bloom.
Beat together the yolks and sugar. Pour in the milk while whisking constantly.
Using a double boiler,on medium, cook the milk-egg mixture till they thicken slightly, 4-5 mins.
Take it off the flame and add the melted gelatin into it and mix well.
Chill in the fridge, stirring every now and then till they thicken up.
Beat the whipping cream to soft peaks and fold into the custard.

Assembly:
On a plate or a cake stand, place one round of the cake and soak it with 1/2 c of Soaking Syrup.
Place a cake ring/Springform tin's ring and tighten it.
Place halved strawberries with their pointed tip facing up and the cut-surface facing the cake ring.
Fill in with Bavarian Cream and place the next round of cake and soak it with 1/2 c Soaking Syrup.
Let it set in the fridge overnight.
Dust with powdered sugar and serve in wedges.

Verdict: LOVED IT, like totally! :-) Jobin insists that I make something with Bavarian Cream everytime, now!

All the pictures are SOOC (Straight-out-of-the-camera)
Happy Monday, peeps! Also, don't forget to register for My Baking Class in Kannur!

WHOLEWHEAT FRUIT & NUT COOKIES

Ilove cookies and I'm just looking for an excuse to bake a batch of 'em.The Food Blogger Bake Sale gave me a reason to bake to my heart's content and I took these cookies along with my Indian Curried  Puffs & Lamingtons. I saw this recipe on Swapna's wonderful blog and I knew I would be making it as soon as possible since she called it 'healthy' cookies!
I cannot tell you how good these cookies are, you will absolutely love it as they are tasty,chewy (in a good way) and butter-less! I made 4 batches in less than a week's time and they disappeared as soon as they were baked and hopefully they don't make an appearance on my waist! ;-)

The bake sale was so much fun! I got to meet many talented food bloggers that I haven't met before at other events and the highlight was meeting Amanda of I Am Baker. She is so wonderful and talented! Kate is a great organiser and she chose the perfect venue which was Kitchen in the Market. (It'sAmanda & Stephanie in the picture above, Kate in the picture below)

Now back to the cookies...the original recipe calls for a portion of flax seeds which makes it healthy but I didn't have any of it, so I substituted it with oatmeal and also used cashews & raisins ! These cookies are so so good,go bake a batch of 'em and fall in love with it!

WHOLEWHEAT FRUIT & NUT COOKIES
Recipe source: Eat Good 4 Life

Ingredients:
3/4 c wholewheat flour (I used Ashirvad Atta)
3/4 c oatmeal (I used Quaker oats)
1 c dry fruits (I used cashewnuts & raisins)
1/2 c chocolate chips
1tsp baking soda
1 egg
2/3 c packed brown sugar
1/4 c canola/vegetable oil
1 tsp Vanilla


Method:
Pre-heat oven to 350F/180C and line your cookie sheet with baking parchemnt.
Whisk together eggs,sugar,oil and vanilla in another bowl.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix it in with a rubber spatula.
Drop level tablespoons of dough onto the cookie sheet and bake for 12-14 mins.
Cool on the tin for 2 mins and then on the wire rack till cooled completely.
Store in an airtight tin.

Verdict: Absolutely delicious! Jobin is not a cookie person but he said these cookies were 'Incredible'! I am addicted to it and I am sure this cookie is going to be a regular in our home,whenever the cookie craving hits me! It's so simple to make! I guess I'm starting to fall for wholewheat products,they are a lot more healthier than refined flour.

VANILLA PANNACOTTA with POMEGRANATE SAUCE

It's official, I love pink! Whenever I go shopping, be it anything, I end up picking something pink. Usually pink is associated with 'being girly' but I don't think I am that girly to begin with. Sometimes I like the vintage look, sometimes contemporary and sometimes even bohemian! It all depends on how I feel right then. When I made this dessert, I wanted to dress it up with something colourful and bright! I searched in my refrigerator for fruits and I found apples, oranges, banana's and a pomegranate.

Apple sauce? No way! Orange sauce? Yes! So I grabbed the bag of oranges dreaming of my Orange-Blackberry sauce I made last summer to go with my My Fair Lady Pudding.Sadly most of them were beginning to rot! Then all I was left with were banana's and a pomegranate. I  have never heard of a banana sauce nor pomegranate sauce before but I chose the latter because of it colour and because it's one of my favourite fruit! So pomegranate sauce, it is!

We usually have a dessert almost after every meal, except brekky. It need not be anything elaborate, even a piece of Chocolate & Cashewnut Fudge or a Simple Cherry Crumble  would do...but we need something sweet. So that gives me the excuse of stocking up almost once in 3 days and I don't complain about it! :)

Pannacotta in Italian means 'cooked cream'.This dessert is generally from the Nothern Italian region of Piemonte,although it is eaten all over Italy and is usually served with wild berries,chocolate sauce or fruit coulis -source Wikipedia

I have never made a Pannacotta before but when I tasted it in Napa Valley, California,I knew I had to try it at home sometime. It was such an easy thing and hardly takes anytime! So if any of you haven't tried this delicious creamy dessert at home before, try it now...or else you are really missing out on certain good things in life :) This is one of those desserts which you can make in less than 10 mins, that is, the active cooking time.

VANILLA PANNACOTTA with POMEGRANATE SAUCE
Recipe credits
For Pannacotta- Finla of My Kitchen Treasures
For Sauce - Your's truly
Ingredients:
For Pannacotta:
1c milk
1c heavy cream
1/2 c granulated sugar
3 tsp powdered gelatin
2tsp water
2tsp vanilla extract


For Pomegranate sauce:
1/2 a large pomegranate, seeds only
2tsp cornflour/cornstarch
1/4 c water
Sugar to taste

Method:
For Pannacotta:
Sprinkle the gelatin over cold water and let it bloom for 5 mins. Meanwhile get the other things ready.
Mix the milk,cream & sugar in a sauce pan and bring it to a boil.Switch off the flame.
Melt the gelatin in the microwave oven for 12 seconds. Stir well.
Add the vanilla extract and melted gelatin into the milk -cream mixture and stir well.
Pour into ramekins or any other glass bowls (it's easy to release) and let it set in the refrigerator for a minimum of 3 hours.


For Pomegranate sauce:
Puree the pomegranate seeds.
Add water, sugar to taste and the puree in a saucepan and bring to a boil.
Add in the cornstarch and let the sauce thicken.
Once it's thickened slightly, take off the flame and let it cool completely.

Serving suggestion:
You can demould the dessert by dipping the bowls in hot water for less than a minute. The dessert will easily slide out of the bowl,onto a serving plate.
Pour the sauce over it and sprinkle some pomegranate seeds and garnish with a sprig of mint.

Verdict: Deliciously creamy smooth dessert with a slight tang from the beautiful sauce.You must serve these in small quantities as they are quite rich. A must have for my party menu next time on! :)

As most of you have seen on the top of this blog, my blog has been nominated for the Best of Indian Blogosphere 2010-Food Blogs, so please take your time and vote for me. Scoll up and look on the right hand sidebar and make sure you vote for my blog. Thank you! :)

Happy Friday!

BAKED CRISPY APPLE CHIPS...totally healthy!

I remember telling you not so long ago that I totally hate any form of baked apples. Remember? Ever since that day, I have been hooked onto these crunchy crispy apple chips! They are so easy to make and they are baked! Yes, not deep fried! How soothing was that to your ears? :-) I am a big lover of anything deep fried, especially potatoes! But if you get a bite of these crispy chips, you will never want to go back to deep fried snacks because it tastes as good as it looks. It is healthy too! So all in all, they are wonderful !

Ah, I forgot to tell you that you  will not feel heavy after eating these. Instead you will not stop at one...but eat a whole plateful of it! :-) You will need some patience for this to get baked as it is baked in a very low temperature which helps in maintaining the colour and also it's taste. I used Granny Smith Apples (the tart, green apple)  but you can use any variety as long as the apple is firm to touch. Having a mandoline (slicer) will help tons, but if you don't , you can put your slicing skills to a test. Just be careful when you slice it because we need it thin, as possible. I feel, halving the apple or even quartering them will make it easier as we will have a better grip on it.Also, keep the skin on,don't peel them away! :-)

When I first tried baking them at home,I was impatient and went ahead with a slightly higher temperature and the chips were kind of burnt. So, try and stick with the lower temperature.All thanks to Archana for the tips :) I am always inspired by her photographs and tried to click on the same lines this time...but her's is definately much better :-D

BAKED CRISPY APPLE CHIPS




You will need:
Apples (any firm variety,I used Granny Smith)
Slicer
Parchment paper
Baking sheet
Cinnamon powder (optional)

Method:
Pre-heat oven to 200 F which is appox. 93C and position rack in the centre.
Wash the apples and slice them fine (with or without seeds). I sliced it with the seeds,hence the beautiful design in the centre.
Lay them on a parchment lined baking sheet making sure you DO NOT overlap the apple slices.
Bake them for 1 hour 15 mins or till they turn pale brown (as you see in the pic) and crisp. It will get more crisp once cooled.
Cool the baked chips completely.
Sprinkle them with cinnamon powder (optional) and store them in airtight containers.

Verdict: We thoroughly enjoyed this healthy treat! It's perfect for tea time or to munch while watching TV. I couldn't stop admiring how cute the chips looked. Everytime I look at the first picture, it reminds me of a flying skirt! :D

Try these wonderful chips at home and stay healthy!

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 :-)