This is one of those fabulous Master Recipes, that can be used with just about any filling you desire. Having a recipe like this at your finger tips means that a cozy, rustic dessert is moments away.
In fact, this could even be brunch, since all the ingredients show up in some way for breakfast dishes all the time: fresh fruit, oats, buckwheat flour, almond flour, cinnamon, etc. Instead of topping your bowl with ice cream for an evening treat, just switch out Greek yogurt and some maple syrup, and breakfast couldn’t be better.
As for the Crumble fillings, anything from rhubarb and strawberries, fresh berries, cherries, peaches, plums, apples and pears, quince, you name it, will work. So this is definitely a year round recipe. If the fruit can go in a pie, it can go in a crumble (except maybe bananas?!). The one here is just a combination of the berries that were leftover from other recipes. So blueberries, cherries, plums, gooseberries and currants all ended up together in the same baking dish.
How to Make a Crumble Topping:
Any crumble topping is just a combination of flours, sugar or sweetener of some sort, butter or fat of some sort, and some crunch. If you add rolled oats, it actually becomes a Crisp according to some rules! A crumble classically doesn’t have the flecks of oats throughout. In order to give this crumble/crisp recipe the substance it needs I use the goodness of oats, but in also flour form. You can make your own flour by whizzing rolled oats in a food processor or good grinder like a Nutribullet type of blender. Along with the oat flour, this recipe uses sweet rice flour, and buckwheat flour. If you are not gluten free and just want to use wheat flour, substitute the same amount of wheat flour for the sweet rice and buckwheat flours. The golden brown sugar and cinnamon are a simple way to give the crumble enough flavour. But feel free to add more spices as you see fit. Are you using apples, then why not add some cloves, and ginger? Cardamom is wonderful with rhubarb. Urfa biber or Aleppo is great with cherries and plums. And on and on. Finally, the walnuts add crunch which is good since the filling usually bakes and turns into a juicy softness. Balance is achieved with the nuts. You can substitute with pecans of course. The crumble ingredients have baking powder added for a bit of rise, and an egg as a binder and leavening agent as well.
How Much Filling is Needed for a Crumble or a Crisp?
For a typical baking dish, and to serve 7-8 people comfortably, you want a good 6 cups or more of fruit. As I mentioned above, you can use pretty well any seasonal fruit your little heart desires. In the ones I show here, one is a mix of berries and cherries, and the other one is blue plums and wild blueberries. To the fruit you will add 1 Tbsp of lemon juice just to keep the fruit from browning unnecessarily. It will also create a balance to all the sweetness that will follow. Combine 6 tbsp of sugar with 3-4 tbsp of arrowroot or corn starch, 1 tsp of cinnamon (and any additional spices you like) and 1 tsp vanilla. Add this to all the fruit and toss. Of course, if the fruit is extra tart, you may adjust the amount of sugar, but you do want the flavour of the fruit to shine through, not just sugar. Let it sit to meld before adding it to a greased baking dish of some sort. If the fruit is extra juicy (like some berries or rhubarb, you will want to use more starch.
Take the crumble topping and cover the top of the fruit, pressing it onto the fruit gently. The crumble should be sandy and crumbly. You do want a variety of sizes though, to create some larger chunks which will be a great texture once baked. The butter will be melted and drizzled over. Finish with some turbinado or raw sugar sprinkled over it all for crunch. Bake at 375F till bubbling and browned, about 45 minutes, depending on the fruit. If using firm fruit, you may need to bake for longer and cover the topping loosely with foil it if begins to brown too much before the filling is baked through.
Put this one aside for all your easy peasy dessert needs. Your family will thank you! It’s such an easy and fun way to showcase all the amazing fruit that is in season.
ps, thanks for your patience, and all the comments asking about me! We’ve been so busy this summer what with moving and a little bit of renovating a condo we’re moving into. It will be smaller, so the culling of stuff has been quite cathartic. Also, the cookbook is keeping me busy with recipe testing, writing and photographing days. This has affected my time to add to the blog and newsletter. But I haven’t forgotten any of you, I’ll try and keep in touch more often!
For other Crumble options, check out my Apricot Basil Gluten Free Crumble, and Persimmon and Cranberry Marzipan Crumble
If you make this Gluten Free Buckwheat Crumble, please be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! It’s always lovely to hear from you guys, and I always do my best to respond to each comment or question. And of course, if you do make this recipe, and you post it on Instagram, don’t forget to also tag me so I can see! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is such a treat.
Love Jen
Walnut Buckwheat Gluten Free Crumble
The perfect crumble topping for every season of the year. This gluten free topping works on all sorts of fruit fillings. It is the perfect texture and sweetness. Makes for a rustic dessert, or a delicious brunch! Just swap out the ice cream for yogurt and maple syrup!
Ingredients
Crumble
- 1 /2 cup halved walnuts
- 1/2 cup golden brown sugar
- 1/2 cup oat flour, you can just grind down your own oats
- 1/4 cup buckwheat flour, can use regular AP flour
- 1/4 cup sweet rice flour, can use regular AP flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp kosher salt
- 1/4 cup rolled oats
- 1 egg beaten
- 7 tbsp butter melted, cooled a bit
- 1 tbsp raw sugar coarse, for sprinkling
Filling
- 6 cups fruit, any seasonal stone fruit or berries, apples, pears etc you like will work. Chop anything larger like plums, apples etc. Berries can stay as is.
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 6 tbsp sugar, unless the fruit is very tart, then adjust accordingly
- 3-4 tbsp arrowroot starch
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp vanilla
Instructions
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Preheat the oven to 375F.
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In a bowl combine the chopped fruit with the lemon juice.
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In a small bowl combine the sugar, arrowroot starch, cinnamon and vanilla. At this point you can also add any other spices you like, like cloves, allspice, cardamom, ginger, urfa biber etc, appropriate for the fruit you are using. Start with 1/4 tsp of each.
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Add the sugar mixture to the chopped fruit and toss. Let it sit for 5-10 minutes.
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In a food processor, coarsely grind the walnuts. Add the sugar, flours, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Pulse once to blend, stir through the rolled oats.
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Transfer to a bowl. Add the egg and mix with your fingers to create texture and pea sized lumps.
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Grease a typical sized baking dish (large enough to feed about 8 people, usually around 8x10 inches etc)
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Fill the greased baking dish with the fruit filling. Cover with the topping, pressing some of the topping gently onto the fruit.
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Use a spoon too drizzle the butter evenly over the crumble. Sprinkle the raw sugar over it all.
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Place the the baking dish onto a baking sheet and place it on a centre rack in the oven. Bake till bubbling and golden brown, about 45 min. If bubbling hasn't happened evenly yet, and firmer fruit isn't quite softened enough yet (just use a sharp knife to test, cover the topping if it is golden brown with some foil, and continue till the filling is baked properly.
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Let it cool on a cooling rack for about 15 minutes or so.
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Serve with ice cream, or yogurt and maple syrup.
Recipe Notes
This is a fabulous brunch treat if served with yogurt or labneh and some maple syrup. And hot coffee!
Inspired by a strawberry rhubarb crumble recipe by The Bojon Gourmet
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