Tuesday, May 1, 2018

The Ultimate Berry Crumble – The Ultimate

I was only half kidding about the “ultimate” designation for this, as it truly was everything I’ve ever wanted in a fresh berry crumble. This has the perfect balance of sweet and tart, tender and crisp, not to mention copious amounts of butter in our double application of crumble.

As I mentioned in the video, if you want a pie-like filling, you’ll want to toss in a few teaspoons of cornstarch, otherwise for a runnier fruit mixture cut it in half, or leave it out altogether. It really depends on what you’re into, but either way, some ice cream on the side is highly recommended.

This really shines with fresh berries, but it will work with the frozen ones. Those tend to be a lot juicier, so keep that in mind when making cornstarch related decisions. And don’t feel like you have to stick to berries, as ripe peaches, and other summer stone fruit would also be fantastic in this. No matter what you use, I really hope you give this a try soon. Enjoy!


Ingredients for 6 to 8 portions (made in 2-quart casserole):
For the crumble:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon fine salt
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 cup white sugar
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) frozen unsalted butter, grated
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large egg yolks
1 to 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar, or enough for dough to “clump”

For the fruit mixture:
3 generous cups fresh berries
1 teaspoon lemon zest
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1/3 cup white sugar
1 to 4 teaspoons cornstarch, depending on how firm you want the fruit filling (I used 4 tsp)
pinch of cayenne

- Bake at 375 degrees F. for about 40-45 minutes
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29 comments:

Renee said...

Whoa this looks amazing! Apart from fruit filling, would it be possible to try with with a creamcheese type filling (for a cheesecake-like finish)? Or even a mix of creamcheese and fruits?

AStonesThrowPottery said...

I wonder if this would work with frozen berries? Looks delicious I might have to try it with the berries in my freezer tonight :)

Vitus said...

Chef John, All this beautiful crumble gives me an idea. Could you make a video making a coffee crumb cake? I wanna rumble with the crumble

Unknown said...

Water can be substituted in for the vinegar, correct?

Marilyn said...

Hi John:
How would you change this to make it with rhubarb?

steelheader said...

OMG, you know how to activate my salivary glands.
Without going into detail rhubarb and strawberries also come to mind.
After all-you are the boss of your sauce.

ardith said...

i'm throwing away my low-carb diet to dive into THIS lovely creation!!
thank you for sharing your yummies with the rest of us, Chef John!! ;)

rodentraiser said...

Oooohhhhh...this looks so good...

Up here in Washington, we get those invasive blackberry vines. So this fall I'm going to pick a bunch of those wild blackberries and make a blackberry crumble.

Unknown said...

In the UK we only put crumble mixture on top! Still looks delicious though, will try it soon.

BK Nicholas said...

I made this as soon as I saw it! Fresh berries from the farmers market. DELISH!! Thanks!

BK Nicholas said...

I made this as soon as I saw it. Fresh berries from the farmers market. DELISH! Thanks!

Unknown said...

Perfect! I served this with unsweetened whipped cream, and my guests, who said they were too full to eat more than a taste, ate their entire serving, and one went back for more. Love you, Chef John!

Unknown said...

Thanks a lot for another great recipe.
I just made it and even though it was absolutely amazing.However, it came out a little too sweet for me. If i would cut sugar by half, would i have to make aditional adjustments to the dough due to lower volume?

Aisare said...

Chef John, I just made this and it looks and smells amazing! You weren’t joking, the “ultimate” title is warranted! I would add a photo of mine, but it won’t let me. 🤷🏻‍♀️ Thanks a ton!

Anonymous said...

Tried it yesterday, using three kinds of berries. It was beautiful and delicious!
Only modification I would make in the future is to use less sugar.

Charlene said...

I just made this and discovered inadvertently that my circular casserole dish is wider than yours.

For others, if your dish is larger than about 9” or 23 cm in circumference, make 1 1/2 times the recipe of crumble and count on using 4 cups of berries. I had to make an extra half-recipe of the crumble and quickly throw in a couple of pared, chopped-up pears to fill my 10” diameter dish.

Unknown said...

I actually used 1/2 a cup of sugar for the crumble and 1/4 for the berry filling without having to adjust any other ingredient and it turned out incredibly delicious. I did feel that the top crumble tasted a bit eggy but not the bottom, I don't know why though.

Unknown said...

Can you use a food processor instead of the grater or pastry blender. My grater stinks.t thank you. And I used a mix bag of frozen berries the first time I made it and it was amazing.

Unknown said...

OMG! The best crumble EVER! I will be making this for dessert for company next week. Yummy!

Unknown said...

I have a newbie question. The recipe calls for 3 cups of berries, but the store lists weights in oz. So would I need to get 24 oz of berries at the store? I think I need something closer to 18 oz, since berries are not a liquid, but I'm not sure.

Stark Radio said...

This is SOOOO GOOOOOD! Thank you, Chef John!

Unknown said...

I made this for a family gathering. There was much moaning in pleasure. Some delighted eye rolling too. This recipe is a keeper! And to the person who asked about using frozen berries, it works wonderfully. Thanks Chef John.

Unknown said...

Made this tonight and it was amazing

Unknown said...

Hey Chef John.

As a retired chef I have loved watching many of your recipe videos. I've made several of your recipes, all fabulous. When I saw The Ultimate Berry Crisp, you had me at "the." My grandaughters and me just got back from the orchard, bought vanilla ice cream and went straight back to my place to make a variation. The Ultimate Apple Crisp. Thank you for a fabulous recipe. We all agreed, best Apple Crisp ever and I've made many.

Jim

KRich said...

This looks amazing! I can't wait to try this in my dutch oven! THANKS CHEF!

Unknown said...

Love this recipe. It works with any fruits and never lets me down and so easy to make. All my family and neighbors love it!! Thanks, Chef

cdcphoenix said...

OMG

Jeremy said...

I'm making this tonight for a potluck breakfast at work tomorrow. It's in the oven now and smells amazing. I loved the way the crust mixture clumped and crumbled. Great recipe Chef John. THANKS!!

Sarah said...

This recipe is utterly perfect! I’ve made it with berries more than once and it’s incredible every time. I’m a about to go make it with the last of the summer peaches!! I followed your directions exactly the first time and not so exactly the second time, I recommend following them exactly! I’ve shared this recipe with so many people, thank you so much!!