Gluten free spiced pear crumble with granola topping

I remember being in food technology class in school, and one of our first tasks was to make a standard apple crumble, but with a twist. I decided to use pear in mine and even now, 15 or so years later, it's still one of my favourite crumble fillings.

Don't get me wrong, I love apple crumble, but pear has this deliciously sweet taste to it, and it's simply divine when paired with ginger, creating a sweet and spicy filling. I would usually cook my pears with honey but the lovely people at Sweet Freedom sent me some of their fruit syrup to try - and it worked so well.

It's very sweet so you need to use much less than honey or sugar, and it's gluten free, GMO free, and free from all sorts of other 'nasties'. I only used three tablespoons (it was a BIG crumble!) and it was deliciously sweet - but you could get away with less if you wanted a tangier taste.

I also wanted to add some extra 'crunch' to my crumble. I know some people add oats, but I also had some Lizi's Granola gluten free granola to try and thought this would make a great topping.

This granola is high in fibre and also low in sugar - so with this, a reduced amount of sugar in the crumble and the Sweet Freedom syrup, this crumble had a lot less sugar than I would normally use. I thought the granola added a great texture to the topping and I liked the extra seeds in it too.

I think this is, without a doubt, the best crumble I've ever made. I've been reading a lot about Hygge recently and I'm pretty sure this crumble is the epitome of it. It's comforting, warming, and perfect to enjoy in a cosy room while the rain pounds down outside.

So without further ado, slap the heating on, pour a nice cup of tea, and throw this easy gluten free crumble together for the perfect winter treat. Oh, and it tastes even better when enjoyed in your pyjamas in front of some trashy Sunday night television!

Gluten free spiced pear crumble

Enough to serve 4 (large) portions or 6 (smaller) portions.

For the gluten free crumble:

330g plain white gluten free flour (I used Dove's Farm)

125g butter

100g sugar

A pinch of salt

1 tsp ground ginger

65g Lizi's Granola gluten free granola

For the filling:

Five ripe pears (I used dessert pears from Sainsbury's)

An inch of fresh ginger, peeled and grated

3 tbsp Sweet Freedom fruit syrup

75ml water

1 lemon, juiced.

¼ tsp ground cloves

1. Preheat the oven to 200'C.
2. Core and peel the pears and cut into cut about ½ inch square. Add to a big pan with the grated ginger, fruit syrup, water, ground cloves and juice of one lemon.
3. Bring to the boil then simmer for around 3-4 minutes, until the liquid thickens a little. It should be smelling deliciously sweet and spicy!
4. Meanwhile in a large mixing bowl add the (cold) butter, flour, sugar, ground ginger and salt. Use your fingers to 'crumble' the mixture together until it is combined and looks like crumble - you don't want too many big clumps of butter!
5. Add the granola to the crumble and mix well.
6. Pour the pear mixture into a large crumble/pyrex dish, and then pile the crumble on top.
7. Place on a baking tray (it's likely the fruit mix will bubble over so this helps with spills!) and place in the centre of the oven for around 20 minutes until the crumble is golden.
8. Remove from the oven and serve hot with ice-cream, custard, or just on its own. It can be kept in the fridge and re-heated too.

I really hope you enjoy this winter favourite of mine - if you try it please share your thoughts and photos on my Facebook, Twitter or Instagram pages.

Thank you to Sweet Freedom and Lizi's Granola for sending me some samples to play with.