a whisk and a spoon

Concord Grape and Peanut Butter Crumble

Concord grapes are one of the highlights of fall in the Northeast.  Every autumn, I’m sure to make a pie and a batch of jam from them.  Thinking about what else I could do with the purple-blue beauties, a crumble seemed like the next logical experiment.  A peanut butter crumble, of course.

I prepped the fruit for the crumble in much the same way I do when I make the pie.  It sounds a bit tedious to seed the grapes one-by-one, but it’s only about a quart of grapes, so it doesn’t take too long.  It’s one of those zone-out prep tasks that’s really worth the step.  After a stint in the oven, the fruit bakes up jammy and deeply purple and the crumble topping tastes like peanut butter cookies.  This one’s definitely added to the annual list.

Concord Grape and Peanut Butter Crumble- serves 4-6

Steph’s Notes:  You can mess around with this crumble topping a bit if you want or need to.  For instance, you can sub AP flour for the whole wheat or chunky PB for smooth. And if you don’t have peanut butter powder, just leave it out.

for the crumble topping
1/4 cup + 2 tbsp whole wheat pastry flour
3 tbsp rolled oats (old-fashioned or quick)
1 tbsp peanut butter powder
2 tbsp coarsely chopped peanuts
2 tbsp granulated sugar
2 tbsp light brown sugar
1/8 tsp cinnamon
pinch of salt (bigger pinch if your peanuts are unsalted)
3 tbsp smooth peanut butter (I used a “natural” one)
3 tbsp (1.5 oz) unsalted butter, melted

for the fruit mixture
4 cups stemmed concord grapes (about 1 1/4 pounds), rinsed well and patted dry
1/4 cup+ 2 tbsp granulated sugar
2 T cornstarch
pinch of salt
squeeze of lemon juice

-Start by making the crumb topping.  Combine all dry ingredients for the topping in a medium bowl, then stir in the peanut butter and the melted butter.  It will resemble a soft peanut butter cookie dough, but after chilling briefly, you’ll be able to break it into clumps.  Put the topping in the fridge while you preheat the oven to 350°F and prepare the fruit filling.

-For the filling, slice grapes in half and remove the seeds.  As you work, put the seeded grapes (and their skins, which tend to easily slip off–don’t worry about it) into a large sieve set over a medium bowl.  Drain off grape liquid, saving 2 tablespoons.

-Whisk the sugar, cornstarch and salt in another medium bowl to blend.  Mix in drained grapes, reserved juice and squeeze of lemon juice.

-Put the fruit mixture in the bottom of a greased ceramic or glass baking pan, approximately 8-9″ in diameter.

-Sprinkle the chilled topping evenly over the fruit mixture, breaking it up into clumps and crumbles.  Bake until topping turns golden and juices are bubbling, about 35-40 minutes, turning at the halfway point.

-Let cool on a wire rack at least 30 minutes before serving.

Raspberry-Rhubarb Crumble with Almonds

Have you already moved on from rhubarb for the year?  I haven’t– it’s one of my absolute favorites, and I’m happy to pick up a pound from the Greenmarket every week till it disappears.  Right now, I’m in that glorious overlap moment when I can find rhubarb and raspberries at the same time.  Why is strawberry-rhubarb the combo that gets all the love?  Raspberry-rhubarb bakes up deliciously.  Raspberries are often less sweet than strawberries, but I’ve always liked to keep my rhubarb desserts on the tart side anyway.  And that hot pink color…I’d paint my whole house that color if it wouldn’t look like (ummm) questionable things might be going on inside.

I’m embarrassed to admit that I’m confused about the difference between a crumble and a crisp (I guess we didn’t cover that in pastry school), but I do know that they are both easier than pie- truly- and, I think, just as tasty.  Flipping through Tina Nordstrom’s charming latest book Tina Nordström’s Scandinavian Cooking, which is less a tome of traditional Scandinavian recipes and more a collection of tasty things from around the world she likes to cook in her Swedish kitchen, I saw a recipe for Raspberry Crumble with Almonds that I knew would work with the addition of rhubarb (and a bit of extra sugar).  The sweetness of the crumbly (and crisp!) topping balances the fruit nicely.  You can probably further tinker with the recipe quite successfully, if you’d like.  Swap the vanilla flavoring for cardamom, use oats instead of almonds, and so on.  The one thing I wouldn’t mess with, though, is the ball of ice cream on top.  That’s a given, at least at my house.

Raspberry-Rhubarb Crumble with Almonds- serves 6
adapted from Tina Nordström’s Scandinavian Cooking by Tina Nordström

Steph’s Notes:  The original recipe in the book is for a straight-up raspberry crumble.  If you want to make this without the rhubarb, use 500g raspberries (fresh or frozen) and cut back both the white sugar and the vanilla sugar in the fruit by half (leave the topping as-is).  If you don’t have vanilla sugar, replace with an equal amount of granulated sugar and a dash of vanilla extract.  I like to keep the fruit on the tart side, since the topping’s quite sweet, but if you know you’d like your rhubarb sweeter, add up to a couple of extra tablespoons of sugar to the fruit mixture.

for the crumb topping
3/4 cup, plus 1 1/2 tbsp (115 g) all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 cup (100 g) coarsely chopped or slivered almonds
1/2 cup (100 g) granulated sugar
pinch of salt
5 1/3 tbsp (75 g) unsalted butter, room temp

for the fruit mixture
about 1/2 lb (250 g) rhubarb, cut into 1″ lengths
about 1/2 lb (250 g) raspberries, fresh or frozen
4 tbsp sugar
2 tsp cornstarch
2 tsp vanilla sugar

-Start by making the crumb topping.  Combine all dry ingredients for the topping in a medium bowl, and use your fingers to mix it all together with the butter.  I like a combination of some clumps and some sandy crumbs.  Put the topping in the fridge or freezer while you preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).

-For the filling, toss the rhubarb pieces, raspberries, sugar, cornstarch and vanilla sugar directly in the bottom of a greased ceramic or glass baking pan, 8-10″ in diameter (22-24 cm).

-Sprinkle the chilled topping evenly over the fruit mixture.  Bake until topping turns golden and juices are bubbling, about 35-40 minutes, turning at the halfway point.  If you notice that your topping is browning too quickly, turn the heat down to 350°F for the remainder of the baking time.

-Let cool on a wire rack at least 30 minutes before serving.

Please note that the publisher, Skyhorse Publishing, sent me a copy of this book.