Vegan Recipe of the Week - Spiced Pear Crumble

Spiced Pear Crumble

A few weeks ago I blogged about my Riverford Organic fruit and veg boxes. In that first fruit box, I had some gorgeous organic pears, so I decided to make a delicious Spiced Pear Crumble - Vegan style of course! Here is my recipe:

Serves 4

Ingredients:

Topping:

225g Plain flour

90g Caster sugar

Pinch of salt

1 tsp powdered ginger

115g vegan butter

Filling:

1 tsp powdered ginger or 2 pieces stem ginger in syrup (finely chopped)

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp vanilla paste

100g soft brown sugar

100ml water

4 large ripe pears, peeled, cored and chopped

Juice and zest of 1 lime

Method:

Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/180C fan/Gas 6

Sift the flour into a mixing bowl and add the caster sugar, salt and powdered ginger.

Cut the vegan butter into chunks - a harder butter works well for this like Stork for Pastry in the foil packet - the colder the better. Rub the chunks into the flour mix with your fingertips until you get the texture of fine breadcrumbs. Set aside the bowl for topping your crumble later.

To make the filling, boil the water and brown sugar together and then add the chopped pears to the sugar water and simmer for a few minutes. Add the spices, lime zest and juice to the pear mixture and stir, simmer for another minute. Spoon the mixture into a large ovenproof dish or four small ramekins.

Sprinkle the crumble mixture on top of the fruit and sprinkle with a little cinnamon and brown sugar. 

Bake in the preheated oven for 25-30 minutes until the fruit is cooked and the caramel is bubbling. The topping should be golden on top.

Serve with vegan custard or vanilla vegan ice cream.

Enjoy!

Big Vegan Love,

VVx.

Easy DIY Vegan Cornetto-Style Treats

I don't know about your corner of the globe, but here in the UK, we have been basking in a heat-wave for the last week or so, and there is something oh so tempting about the sun and iced treats. When the Ice-Cream van plays its tune and goes on its rounds by me, the 6-year old inside me says, I want an ice cream!

Keep these handy vegan friendly treats at home and next time you hear the jingle of the Ice-Cream van you can saunter to your freezer, and make yourself this vegan sweet treat!

I got both of these from Tesco, but most supermarkets have their own versions. These are chocolate dipped and still dairy-free! Use your favourite vegan ice-cream...

Mine is this Swedish Glace vanilla.. creamy and great texture with just the right amount of vanilla.

Scoop into the cone, top with your favourite vegan sauce, I used this Askey's and some strawberry syrup and enjoy!

With Wimbledon just finished, our thoughts turn to strawberries and cream/ice-cream and this Swedish Glace works just as well on top of a delicious bowl of organic strawberries. If you have a pick-your-own fruit farm near you or can grow them yourself, even better.

My nearest pick-you-own fruit farm is Essington Fruit Farm in Wolverhampton. Pop along if you are in the region, they have a fab farm shop which sells loads of fruit, veg and preserves as well as a tea room.

Enjoy the Sunshine! VVx