Blackberry and cherry crumble is an easy to make dessert packed full of fresh fruits. This comforting dish is sweet and tart, full of fresh flavors and best served with lashings of ice cream. Made with simple ingredients, this classic dessert can also be made ahead of time. Easily made gluten-free.
We all know I'm not a dessert kind of a girl, but every now and then I get a craving for one of my classic comfort food dishes, fruit crumble. I grew up with crumbles and it was the first thing I ever made in a cookery class at school (although less said about that the better!). Warming, loaded full of delicious fresh fruits and topped with a scoop of ice cream. Hold me back!
I love that crumbles and crisps are so easy to throw together, if I want a dessert, it's got to be easy to make for sure! Be sure to check out my other easy sweet treats for more!
How to make blackberry and cherry crumble
- Stir all of your filling ingredients together in a large bowl and set to one side.
- Use your fingers to rub together the flour and butter until they resemble breadcrumbs.
- Stir the sugar, oats and salt into the flour mixture.
- Add the fruit into a pie dish.
- Sprinkle the topping over the top of the fruit and bake until bubbling and golden brown.
What is the topping on this fruit crumble?
So technically, you could class this crumble as a crisp as I added oats to the topping to add some texture, but just a few, so I decided to call it a crumble! Crumble topping is so quick and easy to make and you just need simple pantry ingredients:
- Flour: I used plain old all purpose white flour for this topping. You can use whole wheat or gluten-free if you prefer.
- Unsalted butter: Your butter should be cold and cut into small cubes before adding it to the flour. Use cold butter rather than room temperature butter which can cause the topping to spread out and flatten when baked.
- Brown sugar: I use brown sugar for the topping as it has a richer flavor thanks to the molasses.
- Oats: I like the chewy texture that the oats add to the topping. You can use old fashioned or quick oats.
- Salt: Just a pinch helps to brings out the sweetness. If you use salted butter, omit the added salt.
What do you serve with blackberry and cherry crumble?
This crumble is rich and hearty, and quite honestly you can't beat a scoop of vanilla ice cream that slowly melts into the warm fruits. Delicious! Whipped cream also works really well and if you prefer to serve it with a hot topping then custard is your friend.
Can you make crumbles and crisps ahead of time?
Crumbles can be made several days ahead of time and then kept covered in the fridge, you then just need to heat it through in the oven to serve. You can reheat it several times, this was our dessert for a good few days!
Can you freeze blackberry and cherry crumble?
Crumbles freeze really well either before or after baking.
To freeze unbaked crumble:
Assemble the crumble in a freezer safe pie dish, wrap in a layer of foil and place in a freezer bag
To freeze a baked crumble:
After baking, cool the crumble in the fridge, and then wrap it in foil and a freezer bag.
To bake a frozen crumble:
Thaw the crumble overnight in the fridge and then bake at 350ºf / 175ºc for around 40 minutes.
Why is my crumble not crumbly?
When you rub together the butter and flour, it will take about 3 - 5 minutes for the ingredients to come together to form breadcrumbs. If your mixture is too floury and crumbs are not holding together rub in a little more cold butter. If the mixture is too greasy add in a little more flour.
Top Tips To Make Blackberry and Cherry Crumble
- To make this crumble gluten free, use a 1:1 gluten free flour and check that your oats are gluten free certified.
- It's best to use unsalted butter in this recipe. If you use salted butter than omit the pinch of salt added to the topping.
- The fresher your fruits the sweeter your crumble will be. If your cherries are slightly more tart mix a little extra sugar into them.
- Ovens can vary in temperature, so check your crumble after 35 minutes of baking. The crumble is ready when the fruit is bubbling and the topping is golden brown.
For more easy dessert recipes:
- Chocolate Pots with a Pretzel Topping
- Layered Eton Mess with Summer Fruits
- Baked Lemon and Blueberry Cheesecake
- Homemade Cherry and Yogurt Popsicles
I love hearing from you!! If you have tried this yummy blackberry and cherry crumble, be sure to scroll down, give it a star rating and let me know what you thought!
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Blackberry and Cherry Crumble
Ingredients
For the filling
- 4 cups fresh cherries (700g)
- 2 ½ cups fresh blackberries (325g)
- ½ cup white sugar (100g)
- juice of 1 lemon
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch (cornflour in the UK)
For the topping
- 1 ½ cup flour (190g)
- 1 stick unsalted butter cubed (8 tablespoons / 4oz / 113g)
- ½ cup brown sugar (100g)
- ½ cup oats (50g)
- pinch salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350ºf / 175ºc.
- Half the cherries and remove the pits and stems.
- Add all of the filling ingredients to a large bowl and stir to combine. Set to one side.
- Add the flour and butter to a large bowl, and use your fingers to rub the them together until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Stir in the oats, brown sugar and salt.
- Place the fruit into a pie dish and cover completely with the topping.
- Bake in the pre-heated oven for 40 to 45minutes until bubbling and golden brown.
Notes
- To make this crumble gluten free, use a 1:1 gluten free flour and check that your oats are gluten free certified.
- It's best to use unsalted butter in this recipe. If you use salted butter than omit the pinch of salt added to the topping.
- The fresher your fruits the sweeter your crumble will be. If your cherries are slightly more tart mix a little extra sugar into them.
- Ovens can vary in temperature, so check your crumble after 35 minutes of baking. The crumble is ready when the fruit is bubbling and the topping is golden brown.
- Cherries are measured before they are stoned and halved.
- Nutritional values are based on one of eight servings and are an estimate only.
Missy says
Just made it and the family loves it! I did substitute Stevia sugar blend for the fruit and Stevia brown sugar blend for the topping, the family had no idea.
Our blackberries were particularly tart (we picked a little too early for the sweeter varieties) so I added just a little bit more "sugar".
It was delicious and the family loved it. I will be freezing three more bags for later use. Thank you for sharing this.
Slow The Cook Down says
Hi Missy, so glad you all enjoyed it, nothing beats a good crumble!
Pam Greer says
This is our favorite dessert! We always serve it with vanilla ice cream, it is so good and so easy!