Recipe corner – Get Ready To Crumble!

Had a bad day?

Feeling like the world is against you?

You need….crumble!

There is no pudding in the world that can put a smile on my face like a gorgeous, steaming bowl of fruit crumble. Ooooh, except maybe sticky toffee pudding. Or hot chocolate fudge cake. Or….ahem. Easy there, tiger!

It occurs to me that anyone who ever comes across this blog may not realise how sweet a tooth I have, mainly because I never seem to post sweet recipes. I’m not sure why it is that I rarely make puddings – possibly because we tend to have a stash of chocolate in the cupboard most of the year round that provides sweet treats as and when required.

I have sampled, by way of research you understand, most of the WW own branded desserts and my feeling is, for the most part – don’t bother. They all taste a little artificial to me – and pudding is one area where quality is definitely more important than quantity. One thing I do often have in my freezer is a pack of Del Monte Smoothie lollies. These are 3 points apiece and gorgeously smooth and fruity, like a really indulgent sorbet. Far nicer than anything WW has yet produced in my opinion. I also recently discovered that Magnum Minis work out at only 5 points, which, ok, is not an every day kind of thing, but definitely worthwhile for the occasional splurge. The Limoncello and Irish Cream flavours that they produced for Christmas were fabulous – I’m hoping these are not limited editions.

Anyway, back to the crumble, and here is my recipe based on one from the WW site…the only concession it makes to virtue is using half fat butter, and I don’t find that this makes any real difference to the final flavour. I like Lurpak Lighter and tend to keep it in the fridge anyway for those times when only a crumpet or slice of buttered toast will do. I am also adamant that the best crumbles contain oats – purists may beg to differ, but what can I say, I want my crumble topping to taste a bit like a Hob Nob biscuit.

This is 9 points which sounds a bit ouchy – but the other night we had a bowl of 2 point soup followed by the crumble which was a fantastically comforting tea for a chilly January evening and, taken as a whole, doesn’t do too much damage to the daily allowance.

Ingredients

60g plain flour
30g jumbo oats
40g half fat butter
40g caster sugar plus a tablespoon for the fruit*
½ tsp cinnamon
6 sticks of rhubarb

*You could sweeten the rhubarb with artificial sweetener which would reduce the points by 1 per portion.

Serves 2, 9 pro points per person

Combine the flour, cinnamon and oats in a bowl and rub in the butter until the mixture ressembles damp sand (you can do this stage in a food processer which saves a bit of time). Stir through the sugar.

Meanwhile, chop the rhubarb into roughly 5cm pieces and place in a saucepan with a splash of water and a tablespoon of sugar (you could also add some warming spice at this stage – cinnamon and ginger both work well). Place over a low heat until the rhubarb has softened but still retains some structure.

Tip the rhubarb into an ovenproof dish and tumble the crumble (poetry!!) over it. Bake in a hot oven (180 – 200) for 30 mins, or until the top is golden and the fruit is beginning to bubble up at the sides. Leave to cool for 5-10 mins before serving.

Gorgeous with cream, ice cream or custard (unless you’re me and don’t really like the stuff – an Englishwoman who doesn’t eat custard! The shame!) – remember to include any additional points.

Sit back, relax and indulge.