Get ready to crumble with Helen Goh’s rhubarb, pear and fresh ginger pud

Name: Get ready to crumble with Helen Goh’s rhubarb, pear and fresh ginger pud
Cook time: 1 h 30 min
Yield: 6
Cuisine: British,Modern Australian
Ingredients: 100g plain flour; 100g demerara sugar; 50g rolled oats; 1 tsp ground cinnamon; ¼ tsp baking powder; ¼ tsp salt; 110g cold, unsalted butter, cut into roughly 8 cubes; 100g whole, natural almonds

Helen Goh

April 5, 2024

Fresh ginger juice enlivens the pairing of pear and rhubarb.William Meppem

easyTime:1-2 hoursServes:6

Sweet, buttery pear tempers the intense sharpness of rhubarb in this luscious crumble, while a little fresh ginger juice works nicely to enliven the pair should they get a little too cosy.

Don’t be put off by the step to extract the ginger juice – it’s easier than it sounds and keeps the flavour more interesting than just adding chopped ginger, which will dominate.

Ingredients

FOR THE CRUMBLE TOPPING

100g plain flour
100g demerara sugar
50g rolled oats
1 tsp ground cinnamon
¼ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
110g cold, unsalted butter, cut into roughly 8 cubes
100g whole, natural almonds

FOR THE FRUIT BASE

50g-70g fresh ginger (depending on how juicy it is), peeled
80g caster sugar
20g tapioca flour (or cornflour, see note)
¼ tsp vanilla paste
¼ tsp salt
6-8 large stalks rhubarb, cut into roughly 1cm pieces (500g)
4 ripe pears, peeled and cored, cut into 1cm-2cm pieces (500g)
20g butter, softened for greasing the dish
pouring cream or vanilla ice-cream, to serve

Method

Step 1
Put the flour, sugar, oats, cinnamon, baking powder and salt in a food processor and pulse a few times to combine. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture looks unevenly crumbly, then tip it out into a large mixing bowl.
Step 2
Put the almonds in the food processor and pulse until roughly chopped, then add to the crumble mixture. Toss to combine and squeeze handfuls of the mix to get some irregular, nubbly clumps; this will add great texture to the crumble when baked. Place in the fridge while you prepare the fruits (or make up to three days ahead, cover, and keep refrigerated).
Step 3
When ready to bake the crumble, preheat the oven to 180C fan-forced (200C conventional). Butter the base and sides of an ovenproof dish, about 26cm in size, then place on an oven tray.
Step 4
Prepare the fruit base by finely grating the ginger onto a small plate, then transfer into a small, fine-mesh sieve (a tea strainer is very useful here) with a small bowl underneath. Squeeze the ginger firmly to extract 40ml of juice, then place the juice in a large mixing bowl. Add the caster sugar, tapioca flour (or cornflour), vanilla and salt. Stir to make a paste, then add the rhubarb and pears. Toss very well until combined, then spoon into the buttered baking dish, including all the juices.
Step 5
Remove the crumble topping from the fridge and scatter it evenly over the fruits. Place the dish (still on the oven tray to catch any drips while baking) on the middle shelf of the oven. Bake for about 45 minutes or until the fruit juices bubble up around the sides of the dish and the top is golden-brown.
Step 6
Remove from the oven and allow the crumble to cool (and crisp up) for at least 15 minutes before serving with cream or ice-cream.

*Note: While both cornflour and tapioca flour work to thicken the fruit juices, cornflour remains cloudy when heated, while tapioca flour is clear, so the latter is the preferred option here.