Life Changing Crumble… Seriously

Life Changing Crumble… Seriously
11 February 2014

Each week I come up with a recipe using things the kids have grown in the school garden. The group of kids, who look after the garden, harvest the required fruit and / or veg for our weekly cooking, we cook it up and then share it at the end of class. Perfect.

Today I thought it would be quite nice to treat the kids to something sweet and delicious, as pickled vegetables aren’t the most instantly satisfying thing for kids to create in the kitchen. I grabbed all the usual suspects for my crumble recipe and then hit a snag. The girls go to a vegan school and I usually pack truckloads of butter in to my crumble’s crumble.

I started to do some research in to how to get a vegan crumble top, as I seriously had NO IDEA! I discovered this recipe, just by a total random google search. This recipe won’t be for everyone, I know, as it replaces butter with peanut butter. Luckily, there are no nut allergies to worry about at the girls school.

Let me tell you, the substitution of butter for peanut butter is the life changing part of this recipe. It has seriously added a whole new dimension to my world of crumble. Forever. I have to apologise in advance for the lack of finished product photo. I was so busy shoving this new favourite in to my face, I just totally forgot. Sorry.

What you need:

Filling:

• 4 cups strawberries, hulled and quartered
• 4 stalks rhubarb, cut into 1/2-inch lengths
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/4 cup cornflour
• 1 lemon, zested and juiced
• 1 1/2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 tablespoon lemon juice

Topping:

• 1 1/4 cups whole-wheat flour
• 1/2 cup rolled oats
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 3/4 cup peanut butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

What to do:

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees
2. Combine all of the ingredients for the filling in a large bowl and stir until well combined. Spoon the filling into a 9 in. x 9 in. baking pan.
3. Combine the flour, oats and brown sugar in a large mixing bowl. Add the peanut butter, vanilla and mix in with your fingers and make it become crumbly. Add 1 tablespoon of water and continue mixing until it starts to come together and look crumbly. If the mixture still seems dry add 1 more tablespoon of water and continue until mixed well.
4. Crumble the topping over the filling. Bake for about 25 to 30 minutes or until filling is bubbly and topping looks golden brown.
5. Serve warm with cream or ice cream.