I am so excited to share this winter warmer recipe with you – raspberry and pear crumble with super simple vanilla ice cream, yumm! The consistencies are just right, with a crispy and delicate crumble topping with my magic find – Weetabix! – and balance of soft pear and raspberries, served with homemade vanilla ice cream which can be made in minutes.
EASY VANILLA ICE CREAM
This is a favourite of mine from Mary Berry. It’s super quick and super easy to make. You can make it your own – feel free to chop up a chocolate bar of your choosing and throw it in, or add some chocolate chips, sprinkles, broken biscuits – whatever you fancy!
Ingredients
– 4 eggs
– 300ml/10 oz double/heavy cream
– 100g caster sugar
– 1 tsp vanilla extract
EXTRA – filling of your choice! Some ideas: broken chocolate, biscuits, brownie
Method
1 – Separate the egg yolks from the whites – be careful not to mix any, so try doing it in a separate bowl before putting them together.
2 – Whisk the egg whites until they have a little air, before spooning the sugar in a tablespoon at a time, making sure to mix it thoroughly to avoid a grainy texture.
3 – Once all the sugar has been added, mix until a thick and glossy meringue forms (be patient) – try holding it over your head, it shouldn’t fall out! (then you know you’ve done it wrong…)
4 – With a fork, mix the vanilla into the eggs yolks until combined – this will only take a few seconds.
5 – In a new bowl, pour the double cream out and whip until soft peaks form.
6 – Gently pour the yolk mix in with your meringue, along with some of the whipped cream and fold. Fold a bit more cream in each time until well combined. This is also the part where you can add your extras!
7 – Transfer to a tub and freeze it for at least 2 hours, or even better, overnight.
8 – In the meantime, make the crumble!
RASPBERRY AND PEAR CRUMBLE
I am super proud of this concoction; I had an idea of what I wanted and how it should look and it has turned out even better! For you foodies seeking some protein in this sweet treat, just swap the Weetabix for some with protein (it’s only a small change but still helps!) and crush a few nuts. You will see I put (golden) caster sugar: feel free to use either or both!
Ingredients
Topping
– 2 Weetabix biscuits
– 50g Oats
– 50g (golden) caster sugar
– 10g butter/margarine
– 1 tsp ground cinnamon
Filling
– 200g frozen raspberries
– 1 conference pear, peeled and cubed
– 10g (golden) caster sugar
– 1 tbsp lemon juice
– 1 tsp nutmeg
Method
Set oven to 180°C / gas mark 4 / 365°F
1 – Crumble the weetabix into a bowl, followed by the oats, sugar and cinnamon. Combine.
2 – Add the butter to the mixture and use your fingers to mix this into your dry mix until combined and a breadcrumb consistency forms. Set aside.
3 – On the hob, place the pear in a pan with the nutmeg, sugar and lemon juice. Allow to heat up and simmer for 5 minutes to soften the pear and melt the butter and sugar together.
4 – Once your pear mix is simmering, add the frozen raspberries and keep on the heat for a few minutes until they have defrosted. Mix to combine, remove from the heat and pour it into an ovenproof dish.
5 – When you have levelled out your berry mix, sprinkle over your breadcrumb oat mix and press down gently to cover gaps.
6 – When you know your ice cream is ready, place the crumble in the oven for 16-18 minutes until golden brown – this may be a smaller amount of time if you are using a smaller dish so keep an eye on it.
7 – Once baked, remove from the oven and serve with your ice cream!
8 – ENJOY every bit of it
TIP: you can make this in advance and cook it when you are ready, otherwise reheat the leftovers. You can swap the raspberries for blackberries for example with apple, yummy!
FREEZER: this can be frozen! Make sure you cover your dish before freezing; when you are ready to eat it, make sure to defrost it in the fridge for at least 8 hours, or out on the side for a couple of hours and bake! Just make sure you don’t place a cold dish straight into the oven, as this risks cracking it.
Sorry I didn’t manage a photo of ice cream and crumble together – it was too good to wait!
Photo credits @r.a.buckley
What are YOUR favourite flavour combinations?
Lizzie's Week 