Yesterday I was gifted a large punnet of strawberries – Maltese local strawberries, with a heavenly taste that just bursts nectar in your mouth – sweet, sweet nectar from the heart of the Mediterranean ! So, as it is not yet summer, and whilst my marmalade was cooking, I thought to myself “I cannot make more jam”, and I didn’t fancy them the traditional way with cream.
“Something that melts in your mouth and lifts the spirits”, I thought. “Something gentle, yet warm and fulfilling – a strawberry crumble it will be.” The juices that these glorious berries yield when baked, combined with maple syrup, is simply sublime. Serve, of course, with lots of hot custard – or dollop on the cream (in our case soya), and melt in the flavour, as it captivates your taste buds. You simply can’t mix talk with this type of eating – only the sound of “Mmmmm…” emerges. Let’s take these strawberries onto the next level then. Oh, and by the way, I am going to make this pretty simple for you.
Serves 6-8.
INGREDIENTS FOR THE FILLING
- 1.25kg fresh strawberries (I’m afraid frozen won’t do for this), washed and cut into medium slices (around 3-4 slices per strawberry)
- 1 tbsp white sugar
- ¼ cup of maple syrup
METHOD FOR THE FILLING
You will need a medium sized oven dish – distribute your strawberries evenly over the base, then cover with the sugar, and pour the maple syrup over the top. That’s your filling sorted out. Now let’s make the topping.
INGREDIENTS FOR THE CRUMBLE
- 200g unbleached white or wholemeal flour (or mixed works well)
- 25g oats
- 75g vegan margarine (dairy free)
- 75g white sugar
- ¾ tsp almond essence
METHOD FOR THE CRUMBLE
Heat the oven to 180c. Place the oats, flour and sugar in a food processor, and process until crumbs are formed. Now add the margarine and almond essence, and process for a few moments. Tip the mixture into a large mixing bowl, and continue to crumble by hand. Always ensure that you are left with a crumble mix, not a dough – so if it over-thickens, add a little more flour to dry it out.
Add the crumble as evenly as you can on top of your strawberry filling, cover in foil, and place in the oven for 20 minutes (this process helps the filling to cook and yield it’s nectar). Then uncover, and allow to cook for a further 15 minutes until the crumble turns golden in colour. Serve hot with custard, or cream – or both if you wish to over-indulge !!! It also tastes out of this world with vanilla ice-cream in the summer.
All recipes, content & design © Miriam Sorrell www.mouthwateringvegan.com 2010
These are free recipes for your pleasure – all we ask in return is that you take a few moments to leave a constructive comment !
Oh my gosh, that looks fantastic. It’s so bright in color and I just bet that it tasted ever so good. I have a linky party on my blog right now called “Sweets for a Saturday” and I’d like to invite you to stop by and link this up.
Thanks Lisa, that sounds good. Glad you liked the recipe – I can assure you it tastes even better than it looks ! Miriam.
I didn’t know what to cook for dinner tonight, also I am vegan
So it even harder for me! As I was seraching in google for mouthwatering
Vegan food this web site appeared stright away!
I had to try this desert! It really is mouthwatering!
When I made if for my family they all asked for not seconds but
Thirds 🙂
Wow, that’s pretty impressive Robert. Glad the family will all sleep full and satisfied tonight. Miriam.
I have a passion for strawberries, so since it seemed easy i tried it out..as usually am not to grt with sweets, i must say it was easy to follow and super in taste..my daughter ate 2 big portions one after the other..well done to this too..and easy for any one so do try…
Miriam, I am standing over my strawberry patch in the garden praying for springtime! Now why in 20 yrs did I not think of a strawberry crumble?!! I never knew how to make a crumble but I have been able to follow your step-by-step idiot proof recipe with clear realistic photos. The crystal sweet taste of strawberries is already welling up a fountain of desire in my mouth!
This recipe seems to have that effect – it’s virtually impossible to stop after one portion ! Truly a lifter of the spirits. Thanks for your comment Eva.
I hope spring is round the corner for you Andrea, and that you’ll be harvesting your strawberries with an even greater sense of purpose this year ! Enjoy it.
Miriam: I would like to try this but I am not sure what almond essence is. Can you advise, please? Thank you!
Ok Melissa, what you need is to go to a health food store and buy it there. Many caterers use this when making/baking sweets, it gives that magic touch to the sweet. Also you may be able to purchase it from a supermarket. Places that usually sell essence of vanilla, peppermint etc may also sell the almond essence. This crumble can be made without it, but try and get hold of it first, if not go ahead and make it as is and let me know how it goes. Good luck and enjoy the cooking experience !
I just made this last night and it’s amazing! A new favorite dessert! Thanks for all your recipes I am really enjoying them all!! 🙂
Many thanks Rose, glad you are enjoying all the recipes, and this one sure is a memorable one – a great way to eat them too !!! Keep well !!
THIS LOOKS SO YUMMY. I AM PLANING A FATHER DAY COOK OUT AND WOULD LIKE TO MAKE THIS FOR MY DAD. WE DO NOT USE THE METRIC SYSTEM. I TRIED TO CONVERT IT ,BUT WANTED TO CHECK WITH YOU TO MAKE SURE I HAVE IT CORRECT. HERE IS WHAT I GOT.
3 16 0Z CONT OF STRAWBERRYS
1 1/2 CUPS FLOUR WHITE
1/3 CUP OATS
1/3 OR 1/2 CUP SUGAR
1/3 CUP EARTH BALANCE
THANKS MY DAD WILL LOVE THIS, BUT I NEED TO MAKE SURE I HAVE IT CORRECT SO I DO NOT MESS IT UP. THANKS. I LOVE LOVE LOVE YOUR SIGHT. ALL THE BEST TO YOU GEORGINE
Hi Georgine,
Thanks very much for your comment. I think the best thing to do for checking the measurements is if you go to a site like http://www.metric-conversions.org/weight/ and check the conversions there. Good luck and let me know how it goes ! Best, Miriam.
Hi. This looks yummy, and I will try it in October when we get our spring, and fresh strawberries. If you want to keep the topping pure vegan, you might like to try frozen banana topping, as we do. Just slice a whole lot of bananas into one inch slices and keep in the freezer. Then when you want an “ice cream” topping, just put some frozen bananas in the blender, add a bit of water, and blend up until you get an ice cream like consistency. Add more water if needed. Experiment with quantities. You can also add a bit of vanilla. This is yummy – tastes like superior ice cream!
Thanks for such a wonderful recipe, it was so delicious. I am going to a Farmers Market tomorrow and hoping that the vendor is there that has the organic strawberries like last year, I would love to make this dish again.
Hi there Kath and thanks for that. Hope you get some great strawberries for this, you will enjoy the wonderful flavour of them in this crumble. Kath, all my recipes are totally vegan as is the topping/crunch and the soya ‘cream’ poured on top – I used a vegan sugar for this (http://www.meijer.com/s/wholesome-sweeteners-organic-sugar-12-packages-1-lb-ea/_/R-182693;jsessionid=7AEBE4C493250BA3E0F3B57478603B41.instance02?CAWELAID=832192605&cmpid=goobase) – I love the sound of your quick-to-hand banana ice-cream as a topping – would try it on other desserts, but with the strawberry crumble I think it may be a little over-powering in the sense that it is so full-flavored that all it needs is a dash of something totally neutral – a vegan cream of your choice – also one must remember that the oat crunch includes almond essence too, so it’s up to it’s maximum with flavours – introducing yet another one may be interesting, but I suggest that may be you try it with vegan cream first – and savor the flavor, then top with what you wish thereafter. Whole point of it all is to have fun and enjoy it !
Shannon hi there, you are most welcome – I do hope your Farmers Market have the organic strawberries and that you manage to make this again and enjoy it as much as last time ! Cheers to you & look forward to your future comments !
hey thanks a lot for this recipe!! turned out great! i substituted the almond essence with amaretto liquor and turned out great 🙂
Hi there Nicola and welcome. Amaretto sounds great and glad that you enjoyed it ! Best to you !
I am SO happy to have found you 🙂 Can not wait to try this recipe!!!
Donna Hi there and welcome here – many thanks for dropping by here and I very much look forward to your future comments on my blog and your feedback on this fabulous chosen recipe ! Best to you !
Hi Miriam , thankyou for your amazing recipes !! I would love to buy your book ,where can I purchase it please .
Lyndel Hi there and welcome here. I have taken your email address and will notify you closer to the time when my book is due to be out – I hope that in the meantime you enjoy my recipes here. I look forward to your comments here. Very best to you !
Here in the US we call essences ‘extracts’ so instead of vanilla essence it’s called vanilla extract.
Hi Dave and thanks for that. I am aware of this, but frequently forget. There are so many different names for so many things, eg USA Eggplant UK AUbergine USA Zucchini UK Courgette USA Cilantro UK Coriander USA Cornstarch UK Cornflour. . . and the list goes on. Best Wishes.
Hi, please help I don’t have a food processor!! can I still achieve a crumble mixture by hand?
Yes you can Nikki, enjoy ! 🙂
This is simply… divine! Thank you, Miriam!
You’re most welcome Mirian and hope you enjoy many more recipes from my blog/books. Cheers your way !