Winter Fruit Crumble
This is a homey but sophisticated dessert for grownups. Pears and dried fruit are poached in a heady spiced red wine mixture, and then some fresh apples are thrown in for the bake. The longer you can let the poached fruit soak after the initial cooking, the better, as they will continue to soak up the flavors of the poaching liquid, and also turn a deeper jewel-toned hue. In fact, you can do the poaching and reducing bit a day or two ahead of time and store in the fridge. The topping can be made ahead too, so when you are ready to bake, you only have to slice the apples, assemble and bake! It’s a bit more work than your standard fruit crumble, but it is anything but standard!
Serves 6 to 8
For the Topping:
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
⅓ cup light brown sugar
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground ginger
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
½ cup (1 stick) cold butter, cut into pieces
½ cup sliced almonds
For the fruit filling:
1 ½ cups dry red wine
¼ cup honey
¼ cup granulated sugar
1 cinnamon stick
½ teaspoon finely ground black pepper
1 bay leaf
½ vanilla bean, split and scraped
1 cup dried figs, halved or quartered
4 Bosc pears, peeled, cored, and cut into small chunks
3 granny Smith apples, peeled and thinly sliced
½ cup dried cherries
1 tablespoon flour
Make the topping; Combine flour, light brown sugar, granulated sugar, cinnamon, ginger, and salt in the bowl of a food processor and pulse to combine. Add butter and run machine continuously until the topping starts to clump together. Transfer to a bowl and work a little bit with your fingers until you have crumbly bits. Toss in the almonds. Chill until ready to use.
Make the filling; Combine wine, honey, sugar, cinnamon stick, pepper, bay leaf, and vanilla in a large wide saucepan. Bring to a boil and simmer for about 10 minutes. Add the pears, and add water if necessary so pears are mostly submerged, and cook at a bare simmer until the pears are tender, about 15 minutes (depending on ripeness). Add the figs, cook 5 minutes more and let sit if possible for 30 minutes, covered. Scoop the fruit out with a slotted spoon into a bowl and remove the cinnamon stick and vanilla pod. Boil the liquid for about 10 minutes until reduced to about ½ cup. It will look thick and syrupy. Pour over the fruit in the bowl and add the apples, cherries and flour; toss to combine.
Heat oven to 375°F. Transfer fruit to a medium baking dish or a medium iron skillet and sprinkle the topping evenly over top. Bake 40 to 45 minutes until the topping is golden brown and the juices are bubbling. Let cool slightly before serving with créme fraîche, ice cream, or heavy cream.