The dessert group I joined a couple of months ago has a crumble due today and I apologize for being late. I want to stay true to my Food Writer Fridays commitment so I posted that first.
The last thing the group made was Italian Cream Cake and I thought we needed to follow the recipe given to us by Claire of SimplySweetJustice.com but I was wrong. Everyone else changed it up but me!
So, not to be outdone, I’ve come up with a really lovely pear and crumble with vanilla poached pears in it. Folks, it was SO good! If you love pears and apples and crumble, well this one is pretty spiffy. It’s also really good with creme anglais poured over and a bit of vanilla bean ice cream. (but what ISN’T better with custard and ice cream on it?)
I’ve been complaining that lately I’m always a day late and a dollar short but this is one thing I couldn’t wait to try. I made this two weeks ago and liked it so much I made it again when we had a friend over for dinner.
I started by poaching the pears and I could give you the recipe but that would be stealing because I copied David Lebovitz’ recipe for poached pears right down to the baking paper cover. I don’t think anyone can improve on his recipe or method. When I poked the pears with the tip of a sharp knife and they were soft, it was time to put the crumble together.
I peeled and chopped 3 pears and 2 apples and added just a bit of water and cooked them for 5 minutes to get the fruit started. Then I repeated the vanilla flavor by adding just a hint of vanilla extract and a tablespoon of caster or superfine sugar and mixed to combine. I buttered a serving dish and placed the whole poached pears in the middle of the dish and then surrounded them with the pear and apple mixture.
My crumble topping is really easy to make but it does require blitzing macadamia nuts before adding flour, butter, a hint of vanilla paste and the oats. I hope you try it! This could be your moment of glory. 🙂
Yes, I know the recipe calls for 4 pears and there are only 3 in the photos. Sorry. There were only 3 of us for dinner so I only made 3. That’s the great thing about cooking at home. You make just what you want.
- 4 poached pears in vanilla syrup by David Lebovitz
- 3 pears
- 2 apples
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tbs caster sugar (or more if your fruit is not sweet)
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ½ cup rolled oats
- ¼ cup macadamia nut meal
- ½ cup finely chopped macadamia nuts
- ¾ cup butter
- ¼ tsp vanilla paste
- Preheat oven to 180C/350F
- Prepare poached pears according to David Lebovitz' recipe but leave them whole.
- Peel pears and apples and chop into a saucepan. Add just a spoonful of water and cook for about 5 minutes to start the cooking.
- remove from heat and add sugar and vanilla and mix to combine.
- Place poached pears in the middle of individual ramekins or an oven dish large enough for a crumble.
- Add the pear and apple mixture around the pears.
- Blitz the macadamia nuts for the nut meal and chop the remaining nuts finely
- Mix the butter, brown sugar, vanilla paste and nut meal together til it looks like peas, then mix in the oats and chopped nuts.
- Clump the mixture in your hands and break apart bits and spread over the pear and apples until well covered.
- Bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown.
Please check out the other folks making crumble this month. It’s winter in Australia and crumble just makes my heart warmer.
Claire at Simply Sweet Justice: http://www.simplysweetjustice.
Ooo – love that is is still Friday here and Saturday there! The pears look divine. Creative take on an old stable. I will definitely try this.
YUM!
🙂
V
I love the way the pears are poached in vanilla – what a beautiful flavour. This is the best looking crumble I have ever seen. And I thought those were Maltesers in the photo! But they’re macadamias. I’ll hide my disappointment – I was very much feeling like a malteser! Anyway, I love macadamias (as long as I don’t have to shell them) and they are better for me than a box of maltesers! xx
This crumble has the cold seeping out of my bones and warmth coming in 😀
It looks incredibly delish!
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
This looks like a simply elegant dessert. Bravo!
Love that you used macadamia here. A gorgeous combination! And indeed, crumble is extra satisfying in this winter weather…
Oh, this looks absolutely mouthwatering! What a beautiful dish you’ve baked, and photographed so well too!
so so perfect for this time of year!! must have more crumble in my life 😛
Oh these pears look amazing!!
I have power again! Yay! It’s still Friday here! 😉 Maureen, this is a beautiful presentation! What an elegant dessert that looks incredibly delicious! I am now adding poached pears to my recipe bucket list. Blitzing macadamia nuts – you go girl!!
How beautiful, I love the poached pears emerging from the crumble. Looks absolutely divine!
This looks seriously amazing. What a great combination of ingredients, and a great way to jazz up a crumble!
I’ve only had poached pear at restaurants and never prepared it at home – always thought it’s too fancy for me (but remember, any desserts are fancy for me to make. ;-)). I love how these poached pear look. So tasty and love the apple crumble around it too. Irresistible now…
Oh my gosh Maureen, this is truly spectacular. I am in love with this dish. I want to make it really badly right now.
Oh my god, this looks soooooo delish. Can’t wait to test this recipe out.
Maureen this looks divinely good, your photos captured it perfectly. I really want to take a bite out of that pear with the little vanilla beans on it. You and I have some things in common feeling like a day late and a dollar short lately. I finally gave up on being on time and just go with it and use the excuse I’m a type B personality 🙂
I love that I can see the vanilla specks in this crumble. And pears are my favourite winter fruit too (and crumble happens to be my favourite ever topping!). Thanks Maureen!
What a beautiful and impressive dessert. I don’t think I have ever served anything so fancy looking before. My friends and family wold be impressed!
Oh, my…two of my favorite fruits to use in baking! This looks so elegant and delicious! Beautifully done~
Love the presentation with whole pears. Well done!
This does look delicious! You always have lovely photos of your food. I am a work in progress when it comes to food photography xo
One word: YUM!
Sounds and looks delish!
It looks too cute to eat, but that wouldn’t stop me 🙂
That looks fabulous! I love the the whole pears sitting in the middle of the crumble – GENIUS!
Oh My! My husband loves fruit desserts and especially anything made with pears so I am all over this. Just gorgeous!
Yummy! Love pears. Such a beautiful recipe, Maureen. Thank you for sharing.
I love making poached pears but usually just serve them with a scoop of ice cream. Unlike the technique you linked to, I put a plate on top of the parchment paper lid so the pears stay submerged, and core the pear bottom so I can eat the whole thing more easily.
Your post reminded me that I have a bottle of cranberry mead that I could use as part of the poaching syrup hmm…
this is the most elegant crumble I have ever seen… would not hesitate one minute in serving this at formal dinners – and I really like how you up all aspects in making a simple dessert astonishing…
This elegant dessert is good for our family of three. Have a great Sunday!
WOW Maureen! This is just stunning! Makes me wish it were fall here in the states just to make it. What is the name of the dessert group? I might like to play! : )
Poached pears are wonderful, and I rarely do them. Part of the problem is finding really good pears – and when I do, they’re so wonderful to eat straightaway, which only a quick wash. But still, one does want dessert. Good stuff – really nice crumble. Thank you.
This looks incredible! The pears are gorgeous!
Dear Maureen, This looks elegant and rustic! I’m sure it is absolutely delicious…I love poached pears. This is something I’m sure I would enjoy. Have a wonderful Sunday. Blessings my dear, your friend, Catherine xo
A really clever crumble, certainly perfect for a dinner party. The pears look really neat in rows down the dish. GG
This looks absolutely amazing and so elegant. Perfect for a dinner party. I have never combine pears and apples, but it sounds heavenly.
Beautiful photos and sounds like such an amazing dish!
This looks so simple & beautiful – great job 🙂
I usually would just stop with the poached pears because they are one of my favorite fall treats; however, what you have done here with the crumble and the additional pear and apple sounds absolutely fabulous! The added flavor of the macadamia – OMG! So good!
Wow!!! Stunning Maureen.
The pears look just beautiful poking out the top. I can nearly taste the vanilla beans jumping out from them. Yum!
Pears are so good at the moment and I love the drama of serving this dish with them poking out from the crumble.
What a gorgeous presentation!
wow, poached pears alone are so good. adding macadamia nuts, YUM!!! super buttery and flavorful! fabulous recipe!
Love that you leave the fruit whole. It makes a beautiful dessert.
Poached Pears are my fav and when you add crumbles to that .. YUMMY!
Oh how elegant! Pears are so beautiful no matter how they are served or photographed, but you’ve captured them perfectly in your recipe and photos! I just love your blog! Thanks for stopping by! Roz
The pears are so beautiful looking and tasty I’m sure too…love a good crumble, this one sounds so indulgent. 😀
gorgeous dessert! bookmarking this for the fall 🙂
Looks amazing! Crumble is my absolute favourite desert and I can’t wait to give this recipe a try!
two of my favorite fruits in a single dessert… this is like a dream come true 😛
This looks amazing!
Thank you so much and I appreciate your visit a lot!
Hi Maureen, I love how this crumble looks – it’s so beautiful, with the whole pears inside… what a lovely variation from having them all mushed up and hiding beneath the crispy layer!
absolutely delicious!!!!
What a stunning looking dish. I love poached pears, so with the crumble, this would be divine.
Wow Maureen – great looking dessert and brilliant photo’s. I felt I could just about taste those pears – lovely!
this looks amazing. the pics are drool worthy and using both pear and apple is a fantastic idea
I love the idea of having macadamias in the crumble topping… they go so well with pears! Gorgeous winter dessert!
Being cold in Sydney today I think a crumble would be fantastic and the oven would warm the house!
What a fabulous idea and crumble! It looks beautiful and must taste heavenly.
Cheers,
Rosa
Thanks Rosa, it means a lot coming from someone as artistic as you are!
WOW! I’d never have thought to place whole poached pears in a crumble before. I love it!
Hi Alana, seemed like a good idea at the time. 🙂 Thanks for coming by.
Hi Maureen,
This is a fantastic recipe, and great fun to make with the kids. Thanks so much for posting it.
All the best, Alex
Hi Alex! Thanks for stopping by. How about you do a guest post on vanilla for us?
Whoa.
Okay. You win.
Nah… I think you did — again!
I’ve been thinking of making some kind of pear and apple combo dessert lately, so I think it’s funny that I just found yours! This is so beautiful, I love the gorgeous whole poached pears sticking out the top! I bet people are impressed with this one!
It was great Jen and our guest for dinner thought I was very clever 🙂
absolutely delicious!!!!
This crumble is absolutely stunning! I love it.
Thanks Amy!
Your pictures are impeccable and I’d lick my computer screen if my children weren’t watching me right now 😉
Hi Crystal, thanks for stopping by and leaving such a nice comment. I just LOVE your website – almost makes me want to have kids all over again. 🙂
Maureen, I’d say your three pears poking out of the crumble “rose to the challenge” deliciously and delightfully!
I only made 3 poached pears because there were only 3 of us for dinner that night. I wasn’t sure how they’d keep so I decided not to be wasteful. I’m not the best with leftovers because I always want to cook something new. I like playing with food.
What a pretty site you’ve got here! And I love this recipe… the flavors and food styling are just perfect. What’s not to love about a poached pear with crumbled topping…
Thanks so much Barb, you’re pretty nifty yourself! Thanks so much for stopping by.
Oh, i can just taste the sweetness! Orgasmic…LOL!
It WAS pretty orgasmic 🙂
the pictures are so inviting. .. i love the crumbs and i would imagine the lovely contrast of the poached pear too. did i say i love the crumbs? oh well I think my latest post speaks of that love too hehe.
have a lovely day!
malou
You and I are so much alike, Malou!
Dearest Maureen, This dessert looks beautiful…Wonderful texture! And I love the idea of macadamias on top 🙂 Have a lovely week!
Hugs <3
Thank you so much for the comment. You’ve made me feel ten feet tall. 🙂
Maureen,
I love, love, love the idea of poaching the pears and keeping them whole! Nicely done!!
The presentation is spectacular. No apologies necessary for the late past! Besides Food Writer Fridays are better before dessert. GREG
Lovely to see you, Greg, how’s that book coming along? We’re all wanting pie!
This is such a beautiful dessert!
How beautiful! This looks so elegant and scrumptious!
Thanks a lot for stopping by, Renee and lovely to meet you. I’m off to visit you now!
I am staring at you dish and I can’t take my eyes off the pears. I am imagining how delicate and delicious they are. Wow!
That’s such a nice comment from you, Ray, and makes me smile from ear to ear.
I would have made 4 and refrigerate one to eat the next day if only to see how well it holds as a do ahead.
Oh I’d like this for breakfast! What a gorgeous and delicious dessert!
Seriously, the poached pears look gorgeous! I have said FOREVER that I would make poached pears, but still have not….I need to get on this, LOL:-) Beautiful, Hugs, Terra
You should, Terra, because there’s a huge wow factor and they’re so easy to make. Mix the water sugar and vanilla, add pears and cook til tender. Easy as!
Wow what a beautiful recipe and very easy too. Fresh pears when they are in season are truly the best 🙂
Wow.
This looks so tasty!
Thanks so much for coming by and lovely to meet you!
Oh this looks fantastic! I just poached some pears a few days ago and served them with ice cream and chocolate drizzle (working on post). Mine pale in comparison to this crumble! Am I ever going to make this. I can read the recipe and really know that it is fantastic.
This was really good, I hope you try it.
I love a good crumble or crisp and this pear version of yours looks scrumptious!
Thanks so much and I really appreciate the visit!
The presentation of this looks beautiful! Would you recommend as a great dish for seniors?
Hi Julia, I’d probably cut the pears up rather than leave them whole. It’s a great presentation but it’s probably not going to be easy for an elderly person to eat. They’ll love the flavors though!
G’day Maureen! Love your recipe and photo too!
I have never poached pears before and today you have inspired me to do!
Cheers! Joanne