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Berry Almond Crumble

Berry Almond Crumble

My dessert obsessed father was at it again today; he just couldn't resist this berry crumble recipe he found in the New York Times. He used fresh strawberries, blueberries, and some of our frozen boysenberries. Our boysenberries tend to be pretty tart, so with the 3 Tbsp of sugar, the crumble ended up rather tart. Perfect for my dad and me, but my mother complained ("why can't you make it the way I like it? Why do you always have to make things like this so tart?") Mom knows she's welcome to bake anything she wants the way she likes it, so this conversation didn't go very far. But check your berries if and when you make this recipe. Add more or less sugar depending on your preference and how sweet the fruit is. By the way, one thing we've noticed lately is that the strawberries we get by Driscoll haven't been very sweet, and don't have nearly the flavor of the strawberries we get at the farmer's market or at the local fruit stand.

Happy July 4th!

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Berry Almond Crumble Recipe

Instant tapioca is needed as a thickener. You can make this without it, but it will be quite runny. If you don't have instant tapioca, you can try substituting corn starch.

Ingredients

Filling:

  • 8 cups mixed fresh berries: blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, strawberries
  • 1 Tbsp quick-cooking tapioca
  • 2 to 3 Tbsp granulated sugar, depending upon sweetness of berries
  • 1/2 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest

Crumble Topping:

  • 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/3 cup dark brown sugar
  • 1/3 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
  • A pinch of salt
  • 1/2 cup melted butter
  • 1/2 cup finely chopped almonds.

Method

1 Preheat oven to 350°F. In a large bowl put berries and mix with tapioca, sugar and lemon zest. (Without tapioca, crumble will be very runny.) Set aside.

2 Make the topping by whisking together the flour, sugars, spices and salt in a large bowl. Stir in the melted butter and almonds until coarse crumbs form.

3 Pour the filling into a 9-inch square or round pan (do not grease first). Using your fingers, form topping mixture into 1/4-inch to 1/2-inch crumbs and spread over cake. Bake until filling bubbles and topping is light golden, about 45-55 minutes. Let cool at least half an hour. Serve warm.

Serves 6.

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22 Comments

I just love this time of year! Berries and fruit - all perfect for crumbles and cobblers. I can totally understand why your dad could not resist the recipe!

Posted by: Meeta on July 4, 2008 3:48 AM

Elise,
We have Driscoll strawberries and rasberries (shipped from California) here in Oregon too. I can never stomach them as the strawberries are usually not very fresh or ripe tasting and the rasberries are usually moldy. You are right about getting them from the farmer's market, except around here we don't have strawberries year round --only for about a month or so. :-(

This recipe looks delicious, tell your dad he's an inspiration!

Posted by: Keith Prickett on July 4, 2008 6:49 AM

A little fresh whipped cream on top and you'd have the complete Red, White and Blue!

Happy Independence Day All!

Posted by: Gary in Massena on July 4, 2008 7:02 AM

I've tried this recipe with blueberries and blackberries for filling, and pecans instead of almonds. Delicious!

By the way, your father sounds like a very tender, loving giant. Lucky you to have a family-oriented father! Some dads don't even know the way home!

Posted by: lalaine on July 4, 2008 7:52 AM

I made this last night (fresh strawberries, blueberries and red raspberries) and it is tart but delicious -- especially with vanilla ice cream. Very good for breakfast too!

Perfect for my sister's birthday or the 4th of July, although there's not much left today.

Posted by: Nancy on July 4, 2008 7:54 AM

This looks delicious! Love combining fresh, sweet fruits like this. Thanks and happy 4th of July to you, too! :)

Posted by: Jj on July 4, 2008 8:24 AM

I've been on a rhubarb and strawberry cobbler obsession lately as well. It's that time of year! I like the lemon zest idea in your recipe. I make mine gluten-free, but you have given me some variation ideas! Thanks and have a safe and happy 4th of July!

Posted by: Melissa at glutenfreeforgood on July 4, 2008 8:57 AM

I've said it before, and I'll say it again...

Farm-fresh/just-picked strawberries have always been far superior in taste to the grocery store products I've purchased.

But that's just the way the berry almond crumble(s).

Great pic, Ms. Bauer :-)

Posted by: jonathan on July 4, 2008 12:20 PM

Need not be "dessert obssessed" not to resist your almond crumble! Looks delicious!

Posted by: Laura on July 4, 2008 4:47 PM

Looks delicious!

I know what you mean about the strawberries. I made strawberry-blueberry shortcake for dessert yesterday, with strawberries from the grocery store (large, but not a lot of flavor) and strawberries from the local farm stand. The berries from the farm stand had a lot more flavor, but still weren't as sweet as they could be...I was disappointed.

Posted by: Martha on July 5, 2008 8:34 AM

Mmmm! Almonds sound like a great addition to crumble. I bet it was delicious.

Posted by: southern hostess on July 5, 2008 11:27 AM

Very good! I only had 2 cups of blueberries and 2 cups of strawberries, but used 1 Tbsp of cornstarch. Thickened well and the final result was tasty with vanilla Tofutti. This may be come a July 4th tradition.

Posted by: Alicia* on July 5, 2008 3:43 PM

Thank you for sharing this recipe! I made it last night for my in-laws and they loved it. I used organic strawberries, raspberries, and blueberries. It turned out wonderfully and was a big hit!!

Posted by: Courtney on July 5, 2008 5:21 PM

Driscoll strawberries used to be a premium berry, the best available in the supermarket amd worth the higher price. Sometime in the past few years they ceased to be a type of berry and became a brand. Today they are little different than all the other mass produced strawberries—grown for shipping, not for taste. Our loss.

Posted by: Betty on July 5, 2008 7:24 PM

I just made blueberry crumble I haven't posted yet....was delicious! But, I kept thinking how horribly it photographed. Your photo is beautiful!

Posted by: Chris on July 5, 2008 7:31 PM

Yummmm! I find that tapioca works great as a thickener for these sorts of desserts.

Happy 4th weekend to you!

Posted by: Lori the RecipeGirl on July 5, 2008 9:49 PM

Another tip for thickening: A few tablespoons of gelatin. Plain or flavored. For berry pies/crumbles/etc I usually just use some red Jello and it turns out great.

Posted by: Mar on July 6, 2008 1:43 PM

I am in So Cal and agree with you regarding Driscol - very disappointed with their items lately. Driscol, are you listening???

Posted by: Denise on July 7, 2008 3:09 PM

Any other substitute for tapioca? I'd love to try this... strawberries are flooding the farmer's market!

Yes, try using corn starch, the same amount. Should work fine. ~Elise

Posted by: Latha on July 8, 2008 2:29 PM

I made this with 1 tbsp cornstarch for 1/2 the total amount and it was perfectly set. For the whole amount you might need 2 Tbsp of corn starch, if using. Also sub 1/2 the flour with rolled oats- it leaned more towardsa crisp but was perfect. Liked the additon of lemon zest. Food & Wine has something v similar to this which they named as 'mixed berry spoon cake'!

Posted by: sudu on June 11, 2009 2:25 PM

I absolutely love all the deserts your dad likes! I've made this lovely berry crumble many, many times and everyone loves it. Especially love the almonds in the crumble. in fact, I now put almonds in all the crumbles I make. Made this with peaches recently and it was really delicious! Thank you thank you for sharing these recipes.

Posted by: Reena on September 24, 2009 10:58 PM

I made this today for the second time and it was loved by all once again. It's a marvelous recipe, and so easy!! Tastes especially yummy with lightly sweetened whipped cream.

Do you think using apples (and maybe some berries thrown in) would work well in this recipe? If so, would you use more sugar? a particular kind of apple? anything else you can think of?

Thanks for your reply.

Posted by: arcey on September 27, 2009 8:28 PM

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