Summer Jumble Fruit Crumble

Are you ready to mix it up?  Summer Jumble Fruit Crumble combines all those bits and pieces of delicious ripe fruit you’ve got lying around into one fabulously easy dessert.

If your kitchen is anything like ours, I bet you have all the ingredients you need for this luscious crumble already on hand, and that makes it the ideal last minute summer dessert… here’s what you’ll need~

• one or two squishy peaches
• a handful of past-their-prime raspberries and blueberries
• the last few figs from the basket
• a couple of plums so soft you can’t even slice them
• those blackberries you were saving but never got around to
• random currents from the back of the fridge
• whatever else happens to be lying around

This is the kind of no-recipe recipe that I adore.  You don’t need to follow rigid measurements, just follow your instincts.  You’re going to need enough fruit to fill your pan of choice.  You might use a pie plate, a square baker, or a gratin dish like I did, just make sure you’ve got enough to really fill it to the brim.  Wash but don’t peel your fruit, and toss it with sugar and lemon juice to bring out the flavors, then add some cornstarch to thicken all the wonderful juices that will come pouring out as it bakes.

TIP: The recipe calls for cornstarch, sugar, and lemon in the amount perfect for a medium sized summer jumble fruit crumble like I made.  If you want to fill a 9×13 pan, double those amounts.

The crumble topping requires a little measuring, but not much.  You’ll want enough to cover your fruit, so I used a cup of flour, a little bit less of white and brown sugar, some rolled oats, and cold butter.  It all gets crumbled and sprinkled over the fruit.  Now you’re ready to bake ~

TIP: Use your finger tips to squeeze some of the topping together to form larger ‘crumbs’ to give the topping a nice variety of texture.

All that multi-color fruit will bake up into a glorious crimson crumble, but the individual flavors will still be discernible in every bite.

TIP: Set your pan on a rimmed cookie sheet to catch any juices that bubble over.

There’s something about a crumble that calls out for something creamy — use ice cream, whipped cream, creme fraiche, or yogurt.  Or even better, how about with my fabulous Whipped Yogurt?

notes:

• The cornstarch will only slightly thicken the copious juices in this dessert,  it’s meant to be juicy, that’s part of the pleasure.

don’t forget to pin it!