Name: Pear crumble
Total time: 45 min
Yield: Serves 4
Cuisine: British
Ingredients: 100g soft light brown sugar; ½ lemon, juiced; 1 tsp vanilla bean paste; 6 pears, peeled, cored and chopped; 200g plain flour; 125g butter, cold and cubed; 3 tbsp caster sugar; custard or ice cream, to serve

A whole pear crumble in a rectangular dish

100g soft light brown sugar
½ lemon
juiced
1 tsp vanilla bean paste
6 pears
peeled, cored and chopped
200g plain flour
125g butter
cold and cubed
3 tbsp caster sugar
custard or ice cream
to serve

Method

step 1
Heat the oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6.
step 2
Put the brown sugar, lemon juice and vanilla in a pan and warm over a medium heat, swirling until the sugar has dissolved. Tip into a bowl with the chopped pears and toss really well to combine. Tip into a 20cm x 30cm baking dish.
step 3
To make the crumble topping, tip the flour, butter and caster sugar into a bowl and use up-turned palms and the tips of your fingers to gently rub the butter into the flour, until it resembles sandy breadcrumbs.
step 4
Scatter the crumble all over the top of the pears, then sprinkle with some sea salt flakes, if you like. Bake for 30 minutes until the crumble is golden and a little of the sauce is bubbling up at the sides. Flash under a hot grill to brown, if you like. Serve with custard or ice cream.