Strawberry & Stem Ginger Crumble

Strawberries and ginger - a combination that has no right to be this good.

The sweetness of British strawberries, a gentle heat from stem ginger, and that golden, buttery crumble topping that shatters when you tap it with a spoon. Serve it warm with custard if the weather's being British about things, or ice cream if you're feeling optimistic.

The ginger does double duty here - the chopped balls give you little pockets of heat running through the fruit, and a couple of tablespoons of the syrup from the jar goes into the filling, adding depth without any extra effort. Don't pour that syrup down the sink.

Everything in this recipe is available from The Pear. And if butter's not your thing, the notes below have you covered.

Serves

4 - 6 portions

Ingredients

• 500g strawberries (hulled and halved)
• 2 stem ginger balls (finely chopped)
• 2 tbsp ginger syrup (from the stem ginger jar)
• 1 tbsp honey (plus 3 tbsp for the topping)
• 150g plain flour
• 50g oats
• 80g butter (cold and cubed)

Method

1. Heat the oven: Set it to 180°C fan / 200°C conventional.
2. Prepare the fruit: Tip the strawberries into a baking dish. Add the chopped stem ginger, the 2 tablespoons of ginger syrup and 1 tablespoon of honey. Stir gently to coat everything, then spread level.
3. Make the crumble topping: Put the flour, oats and 3 tablespoons of honey into a bowl with the cold cubed butter. Rub the butter in with your fingertips until the mixture resembles rough, clumpy breadcrumbs - you want some larger lumps in there for texture. Don't overwork it.
4. Assemble: Scatter the crumble topping evenly over the fruit. Don't press it down - keep it loose so it crisps up properly.
5. Bake: Cook for 30 - 35 minutes until the topping is golden and the fruit is bubbling up at the edges. If the top is browning too quickly, lay a piece of foil loosely over it for the last 10 minutes.
6. Rest before serving: Give it 5 - 10 minutes out of the oven before you serve. The fruit will be molten straight from the oven and the crumble firms up slightly as it cools.

Tips

• Cold butter is non-negotiable: Warm butter turns the topping greasy rather than crumbly. If your kitchen is warm, pop the cubed butter back in the fridge for 10 minutes before you start.
• Don't skip the syrup: The ginger jar syrup is one of those quiet ingredients that makes everything taste more considered. Two tablespoons into the fruit base makes a real difference.
• Taste your strawberries: If they're very sweet, ease back on the honey. If they're a bit sharp (which earlier-season ones often are), the honey does important work.
• The oats matter: They give the topping a slightly nutty chew that pure-flour crumbles don't have. Keep them in.
• No butter? Swap for 80g of cold coconut oil instead. It behaves similarly in the mix and gives a very slightly different but equally good result. We stock it on our shelves.

Shop the ingredients

Everything you need is available from The Pear in Clare. Pop in and we'll point you to the stem ginger, oats, flour and honey - plus the coconut oil if you want to make it dairy-free.