Strawberry Crumble

With this easy fresh strawberry crumble recipe, escape to summer and make a comforting breakfast, afternoon snack, or beautiful dessert. Served warm with a spoonful of crème fraîche or a scoop of vanilla ice cream, this crumble is perfect to finish a fancy dinner.

If you like crumble desserts and strawberries, you will love this strawberry crumble! 

It is a divine summer recipe where the crunchy crumble made with butter, flour, and sugar marries juicy and sweet strawberries.

Both kids and adults equally love this dessert and Strawberry Crumble Bars.

And they are so easy to make, easier than any of the fruit pies. So, please hurry up to make them both before the strawberry season runs out!

What is a crumble?

Crumble is a great classic of English cuisine made in sweet or savory variations.

Fruit, vegetables, or meat are covered with a crumbly mixture baked until crunchy and crisp.

To make a crumble topping could not be easier. You do not need to go fancy with it: it will be baked until brown and look gorgeous in any way.

According to Women's Weekly Food,

The beauty of the crumble is in its rustic look. 

To make it, you will need to combine all the crumble ingredients with your fingertips or a pastry blender to obtain a grainy mixture. It should look like some kind of wet "sand."

French chef Cyril Lignac places dry ingredients and butter in the bowl of a food processor and mixes them until a sandy mixture. So, use any method that you are comfortable with.

Why you should try this recipe

1. The recipe is easy and quick to make: it uses simple ingredients and requires only 15 monutes of the hands-on time.
2. Fresh strawberry crumble is an easy dessert to make during summertime.
3. It is fun to make with little ones: they love to make the crumble dough.
4. This dessert is a perfect way to finish your dinner party.

Ingredients

Here is a quick overview of what ingredients you will need. Follow the full recipe below for exact amounts and instructions. I recommend making the recipe as written for the best results.

Strawberries: seasonal ripe strawberries are the best to make the dessert. Purchase them at a farmers market or your grocery store.

If the fresh berries are not available, replace them with frozen strawberries tossed with one tablespoon corn starch.

Or use other fruit of your choice: pears, apples, plums, apricots, raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, currants, blackcurrants, etc.

Butter: use cold unsalted butter cut into cubes, and not melted butter.

Sugar: both granulated white sugar, golden or dark brown sugar perfectly work to make the recipe.

Almond flour: use store-bought almond flour or grind slivered almonds yourself.

You can also replace it with ground hazelnuts, pistachios, or shredded coconut.

Flour: please, use all-purpose flour as the base of the crumble.

Flaked almonds: they bring an additional crunchiness to the crumble dessert. You can omit this ingredient if desired.

How to make strawberry crumble

Preheat the oven to 355 degrees F/180 degrees C.

Wash strawberries, dry them and hull them. Cut berries into quarters. Grease a 7x7 inches/18x18 cm oven dish with butter or cooking spray.

Layer strawberries on the bottom of the square baking dish (photo 1).

To make crumble, place all-purpose flour in a large mixing bowl. Add sugar, almond flour, a pinch of salt, and cold butter cut into cubes.

Mix with your fingers until you get a crumble mixture (photo 2).

Spread it over strawberries. Sprinkle with flaked almonds (photo 3).

Bake in the preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes until the strawberry syrup bubbles up all around the edges (photo 4). Serve warm with crème fraîche.

Recipe variations

In making a classic crumble, the rule of thumb is to use four ingredients like butter, sugar, all-purpose flour, and ground almonds (almond flour) in equal proportions.

Or to use three ingredients like all-purpose flour, sugar, and butter equally, too.

Consider using 1 oz. (30 g) of each of these ingredients for one serving.

You can get completely creative and prepare your crumbly topping by adding speculoos, Breton cookies, or Lu Petit Beurre Biscuits, ground hazelnuts, pistachios, grated coconut, muesli, and spices.

Replace almond flour with ground hazelnuts or pistachios to bring another nutty flavor and texture to your crispy crumble.

You can also add a few rosemary leaves or chopped basil leaves on top of the strawberries: these flavor combinations are just divine.

If you do not like cooked strawberries, bake crumble on the side and serve fresh sweet fruit sprinkled with the baked crumble.

In the end, you can play with ingredients to delight your taste buds. It is a personal preference.

And if strawberries are out of season, opt for your favorite fruit such as raspberries, pitted cherries, peaches, apricots, plums, apples, pears, pineapples, nectarines.

How to serve it

Serve your crumble warm, lukewarm, or cold in a gratin dish you baked or distribute the dessert into serving dessert plates.

Accompany the dessert with crème fraîche, whipped cream, or a big scoop of vanilla ice cream.

To bring an extra burst of the strawberry flavor, decorate it with fresh berries.

Dust your crumble with powdered sugar as a great last-minute garnish if you run out of ice cream.

Storage

Strawberry crumble is best eaten the same day it is made. Store your crumble covered with plastic wrap at room temperature for up to 24 hours.

You can also store the leftovers in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.

To freeze the baked fruit crumble, let it cool completely. Then wrap the dish with plastic and freeze for up to 3 to 4 months.

To thaw, bring the dessert to the fridge overnight. Then reheat it (uncovered) at 355 degrees F/180 degrees C for 10 to 15 minutes.

For the unbaked strawberry crumble, you have two options:

• You can freeze the strawberry filling and crumble mix separately in airtight freezer-safe container.
• You can freeze the assembled strawberry crumble in a freezer-safe dish, wrapped with plastic film tightly for up to 3 to 4 months. Let it thaw in the fridge overnight and bake as directed.

Expert tips

1. To bake with frozen strawberries, do not thaw first. Use them frozen. Toss strawberries with one tablespoon corn starch to help absorb the juice.
2. Bake your crumble in a gratin dish or individual ramekins.
3. While baking, make sure that strawberry syrup bubbles all around the edges of the baking dish and the top is golden brown. It is the sign that the syrup has thickened, and the crumble is ready.
4. Pass the crumble under the grill for 2 minutes if you want to color your preparation.
5. Serve it warm with crème fraîche or let the crumble cool down before serving it.

Frequently asked questions

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Recipe card

The nutritional information has been calculated using an online recipe nutrition calculator such as Verywellfit.com and is intended for informational purposes only. These figures should be used as a general guideline and not be construed as a guarantee.

The recipe was originally published on April 15, 2021. It has been revised to include improved content and photos. All posted pictures are mine.