White Peach Crumble
Posted in Dessert, Peaches on August 25th, 2009 by Melinda – Be the first to comment
Once again, I am reminded that summer’s bounty is oh-so-great. Peaches are one of those fruits that, if you have the luck to stumble upon that perfectly ripe specimen, will surpass the flavor of any cheesecake or pudding or other man-made dessert. Nature truly loves us.
That said, after a few months of plain peaches, one might want to dress up the fruit a little and this simple crumble recipe is an easy and relatively healthy way to do so. Ripe white peaches are naturally sweeter than yellow peaches, so I used mildly sweet agave nectar to create a syrup. However, if you’re using yellow peaches, you might want to step up the sweetness with raw honey. Also, for a special friend, you can probably make a similar raw, vegan dish by simply letting the peaches and agave nectar sit out for an hour or so, long enough for the juices to seep out and create a syrup. Then combine chopped almonds, walnuts/pecans, and dates with cinnamon and maybe just enough agave nectar to hold it together in little clumps and I think you’re golden!
Peaches have plenty of nutritional attributes, but I’m going to hold off on that info for now, and encourage you to just focus on the pure sensual goodness of the flavor and texture of the peaches. The endorphins produced by this will be health benefit enough!
Ingredients:
3 large white peaches
2 tablespoons agave nectar (or honey)
1 ¼ cup whole wheat pastry flour (all-purpose flour would work here too, but I like the flavor in the whole wheat)
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 tablespoons raw sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ cup slivered almonds
¼ cup butter
¼ cup milk
Directions:
Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees. Slice the peaches and mix with agave nectar. Pour into 9 x 9 inch baking dish and let sit.
Mix together the flour, cinnamon, sugar, baking powder and almonds. Cut in the butter with a pastry cutter until mixture resembles fine crumbs. This is going to take a little bit of elbow grease, as you will also be cutting the almonds into smaller pieces, but it’s worth the effort. Stir in milk. Mixture should now vary between larger clumps and smaller crumbs.
Pour crumble mix over top of peaches and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until crumble is golden brown. Let cool slightly, serve as is, or with vanilla ice cream if you’re feeling saucy.