Carrot Cake
Dorie Greenspan
8324 ratings with an average rating of 5 out of 5 stars
8,324
1 hour 30 minutes, plus at least 15 minutes' refrigeration
Fruit Crumble
Updated March 19, 2024
- Total Time
- 1¼ hours, plus cooling
- Prep Time
- 5 minutes
- Cook Time
- 1 hour 10 minutes
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
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Ingredients
Yield:6 to 8 servings
- 1½cups/154 grams instant oats (see Tip)
- ¾cup/150 grams sugar
- ½cup/56 grams chopped pecans or walnuts
- 1teaspoon chai spice or ground cinnamon (see Tip)
- 1teaspoon fine salt
- ½cup/114 grams unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 2pounds fruit, such as berries, pears, apples, peaches, plums or a combination
- ½cup/100 grams sugar
- 2tablespoons cornstarch or flour (see Tip)
- 1tablespoon lemon juice
For the Crumble
For the Fruit
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (8 servings)
402 calories; 18 grams fat; 8 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 7 grams monounsaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 61 grams carbohydrates; 4 grams dietary fiber; 43 grams sugars; 4 grams protein; 335 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Powered byPreparation
- Step 1
Prepare the crumble: Heat oven to 375 degrees with a rack in the center.
- Step 2
Mix the oats, sugar, nuts, chai spice and salt in a medium bowl. Cut the butter into cubes the size of dice and toss in. Use your fingers to smush the butter into the dry ingredients until no yellow bits remain and the blend forms clumps. Refrigerate uncovered while you prepare the fruit (or covered for up to 3 days).
- Step 3
Prepare the fruit: If you’re using big fruit, scrub it well, then cut into ½-inch pieces, about the same size as small blackberries or big blueberries. Throw out any pits, seeds or stems.
- Step 4
In a large bowl, mix the sugar and cornstarch. Add all the fruit, then the lemon juice and stir until well mixed. Scrape the fruit and any juices into a 9- or 10-inch ovenproof skillet and spread evenly.
- Step 5
Scatter the chilled crumble mixture evenly over the fruit, breaking any large clumps into smaller pebbles. Place the skillet on a sheet pan to catch any dripping fruit juices.
- Step 6
Bake until the fruit is bubbling, the liquid has thickened and the top is nicely browned, about 45 minutes. If the crumble darkens too much before the fruit mixture is thick, place a sheet of foil loosely on top. Cool for at least 15 minutes before serving.
Tips
- If you want to make this gluten-free, be sure to use gluten-free oats and cornstarch.
- You can also use a spice blend, such as apple pie spice or pumpkin spice, or a savory blend, like baharat.
Private Notes
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Cooking Notes
dimmerswitch
Rebecca - you ask if regular oats can be subbed in for instant. Like you I never buy instant oats and while I haven't tried the regular oats in this recipe, haven't made it yet, I often make fruit crumbles during the year and when I use oats I always use Bob's Red Mill regular oats and it works great. When I make this, I am going to use those regular oats.
Michael
Super easy and helps with a group of people. I used regular rolled oats and they worked fine.
Jennifer
This is similar to my cherry crumble recipe, I simmer a little brandy with the fruit. Give it a try!
Rebecca
Can you use regular oats. I never buy instant.
dimmerswitch
Elizabeth Hanson - Extended family members are celiacs and from cooking for them I know that while oats are GF, if they have been processed in facilities to share equipment with gluten grains then the gluten proteins can transfer to the oats. Look for brands that list GF on their labels to note they are not processed along with gluten grains. For example, Bob's Red Mill GF Old Fashioned Rolled Oats. https://www.bobsredmill.com/gluten-free-rolled-oats.html
Nktaylor
Delicious. Might cut the sugar down a bit in the topping,
Marty
I have frozen peaches from my peach tree already cut up. What's the best way to make this with frozen fruit? Thanks!
Sheila
Having made crisps over many years, I have evolved to preparing the fruit and putting it in to the oven before assembling the topping and adding it to the dish. The fruit juices generally thicken by the time the topping has browned lightly.
LA Baker
Some oats are gluten free. Trader Joe's are gluten-free, for instance, but some oats are processed on the same equipment as other food and are not gf. Check the packaging.
Kim
My grandmother made this all the time with apples. I think she called it a "crisp" though.
Rose K
I make the crumble using equal parts butter, flour, oats and brown sugar. This can be multiplied ad infinitum, pressed into a slab and frozen. Then when I need it for the dessert, I just cut off a piece and chop it into crumble size. Now, for the fruit - frozen berries are NOT too wet. Don't thaw them unless you like mush. Toss any combo of berries with cornstarch and a little grated lemon rind, then pour into oiled baking dish. Top with frozen crumble and bake till bubbling.
Ann
How many cups is 2# approximately?
M McDowell
I made this on a cold, snowy day. The topping is great, esp with both pecans and walnuts. And the cooked fruit juices a perfect consistency. But the amount of sugar mixed in the fruit was way over the top. Ice cream or sweetened whipped cream would have made us gag. I was using apple and pears, which are naturally sweet, so a quarter or a third of the sugar called for would suffice. Suggest you adjust sugar wisely to fruit used.
Susan O
I made the full amount of topping with 1/2 the blueberries. Also just mixed the topping ingredients with melted v softened butter. Prepared this in individual ramekins. Crunchy, flavorsome, delicious. Topped with homemade whipped cream. This will be my new go-to crisp/crumble recipe!
dimmerswitch
Made per recipe choosing fresh blackberries and apple (peeled diced) combo in ratio of about 60% /40%. Used Bob's Red Mill Regular Old Fashioned Oats (they are GF btw). Bake time was about 1 hr to perfect doneness. Next time I will reduce sugar in the fruit by half. Used spice blend referenced in tips, M. Clark recipe. Very good. See link: https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1021926-sweet-baking-spice
Christa
"Keeping the peel on the apple lends a pleasant chewiness"? More like an unpleasant fibrous stringiness left hanging inelegantly out of one's mouth.
Stephanie R
The only theory I can come up with as to why so many NYT recipes need to bake/cook longer than stated is that the NYT chefs must all start with room temperature ingredients. Home cooks do not. This fruit crumble took 90 minutes to fully bake and did not burn on the top at all in my perfectly calibrated oven.
Courtney T
I made this with regular oats and it turned out delicious. I was skeptical of the chai spice in the oat crumble with stone fruit ("summer flavors mixed with winter flavors?") but the flavors worked very well together and was a hit among friends who tried it! This will be a dessert staple for me moving forward.
Claire
I made this using a variety of berries that were a bit overripe- blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries- to which I added strawberries and a peeled, cut up Granny Smith apple. Cut the sugar in half. This made for a delicious mixture of flavors and textures in the finished crumble. I made it in ramekins and added a small scoop of vanilla bean ice cream to the warm crumble. Delicious- rave reviews from both the kids and the grandparents .
Duy
I made this recipe with the exact ingredients amounts but placed it in a glass 8x8 dish instead, and it was just the right size without any overflow from juices. I used a 12 oz bag of frozen mixed berries that I allowed to thaw and drain before mixing with freshly peeled and chopped apples and nectarines that I added to reach 2 lbs. The 2 Tbsp of cornstarch was perfect to thicken the juices. I reheat leftovers inside a ramekin in the air fryer to recrisp it, then add ice cream - perfection!
karen d
Used the Baharat spices, wonderful! Used less sugar in both the fruit and the crumble, topped with vanilla ice cream. So good! Will add to my frequent bakes.
kmm
Just ok , pretty good topping
M McDowell
I made this on a cold, snowy day. The topping is great, esp with both pecans and walnuts. And the cooked fruit juices a perfect consistency. But the amount of sugar mixed in the fruit was way over the top. Ice cream or sweetened whipped cream would have made us gag. I was using apple and pears, which are naturally sweet, so a quarter or a third of the sugar called for would suffice. Suggest you adjust sugar wisely to fruit used.
Diane
Fruit Crisp or crumble is an old, traditional recipe if ever there was one. Over hundreds of years, North American cooks adapted local ingredients, which is all they had, to produce delightful combinations, that were as sound as the latest drive to local ingredients. When I make this desert, I want regular oats and no cinnamon. Basically, nothing exotic, nothing processed, just seasonal fruit and a basic crumble topping. Nature and heat will do the rest. I agree with Rose K’s comments 100%.
Martha W.
Easy to throw this dessert together. I used strawberries and substituted monkfruit for some of the sugar. Next time, I will cut back on the amount of sweetener overall because it was a bit on the sweeter side and we enjoy fruit with a little more tartness.
Bonnie Ballantyne
When recipes call for instant oats I put the recommended amount in the blender and pulse them few times...works fine.
Beth R
I made this a few days ago & found that I could put all of the crumble ingredients (except nuts) in the bowl of a food processor for easy mixing. Also halved the sugar, baked for about an hour in an 8-inch square dish, & used used apples. Perhaps a little less salt, if you are halving the sugar.
Amber
Oats are not gluten free. You can make someone seriously ill by giving them oats.
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