Pear Crumble with Chocolate

5 from 1 vote

This pear crumble with chocolate combines fresh pear with Nutella. The fruit is snuggled under a duvet of buttery crispy oats, hazelnuts and almonds - bliss. This recipe is easy to make and can be oven-ready in 15 minutes.

Prep Time15

Cook Time25

Total Time40

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American, British, Worldwide

Servings: servings

Calories: 488kcal

Author: Jane Coupland

Ingredients

500 g Pears
2 tablespoon Nutella chocolate spread
50 g Unsalted butter - room temperature
100 g Spelt flour (or plain flour)
⅛ teaspoon salt
30 g Granulated sugar
30 g Demerara sugar
30 g Ground almonds (almond meal)
30 g Jumbo rolled oats
30 g Hazelnuts

Metric - US Customary

Instructions

Preheat oven to 180C/ 350F/ GM4
Put the chocolate spread into a heatproof bowl and microwave on medium heat for 20 seconds to soften it. Peel, core and chop the pears then add to the bowl and stir to cover the pears completely
Tip the flour, butter, salt and granulated sugar into a medium bowl and rub the fat into the dry ingredients until it resembles coarse breadcrumbs
Chop the hazelnuts roughly then tip into the mixing bowl along with the demerara sugar, oats and ground almonds and stir to combine
Pile the chocolate-coated pears into either a medium-sized ovenproof dish (approx 16. x 23 cm) or divide them between 4 heatproof pots (the mini skillet pictured is approx 12.5cm in diameter). Spoon the crumble mix over the top and bake for 20-25 minutes until crisp and golden

Notes

Tips and Notes

use ripe pears to ensure a juicy fruity base layer and do peel them
cut the pears as large or small as you like - a variety of shapes and sizes works really well here
be careful not to blast the chocolate spread on too high a heat in the microwave. The aim is to heat it gently to loosen it sufficiently to coat the pears
and when mixing the pears into it, ensure they are all covered
make it vegan: use a vegan chocolate spread and vegan butter alternative. Add an extra pinch of salt to boost the flavour of the crumble topping in lieu of the butter
make it gluten-free: swap the spelt flour for a gluten-free variety
make it nut-free: ensure that the chocolate spread you are using does not contain nuts. Replace the ground almonds with the same amount of flour or extra oats and leave out the hazelnuts

Making in Advance

This pear crumble is fine to make in advance. Assemble up to the point of baking then cover and store at room temperature or in the fridge for up to 24 hours.

Freezing Instructions

Ensure that you assemble the crumble in a dish suitable for freezing then wrap, label and freeze for up to 3 months. Defrost fully at room temperature and bake as instructed.

Leftovers can also be frozen. Just allow the crumble to cool completely before placing in a freezer-proof container and freezing for up to 3 months. Defrost fully before reheating for 15-20 minutes in the oven to re-crisp the crumble topping. The pear may soften slightly due to the freezing process but it will still be tasty.

Nutrition