Pear Crumble with Raspberry Cream and Custard

Pear Crumble with Raspberry Cream and Custard from Paul Rankin! Soft, caramelised pears with a hint of lemon zest, sweet crumble topping with almonds for extra crunch, smooth raspberry cream and creamy custard with a hint of vanilla to finish it off!

Ingredients

Juice of 1 lemon
6 ripe Comice, Conference or Concorde pears
4 tbsp unsalted butter
4-8tbsp sugar, depending on pears
1 tbsp plain white flour
Grated zest of 1 lemon

For the crumble topping

50g white sugar
50g golden brown sugar
100g plain white flour
100g unsalted butter, chilled and diced
65g ground almonds
65g flaked almonds

For the raspberry cream

200g fresh or frozen raspberries
50g sugar
1 tsp lemon juice
150ml whipping cream

For the cheat's custard

250ml evaporated milk
250ml shop brought custard
250ml double cream
1 tsp vanilla paste

Method

Print Recipe

Preheat the oven to 190°C.
To prepare the pears, place the lemon juice in a small bowl and, as you peel the pears, roll them in the juice to avoid discoloration. Halve the pears and scoop out the cores. Slice each lengthways into about eight wedges. Return the pieces to the lemon juice.
Heat a large frying pan over a moderate hear and melt 2 tbsp of the butter. When the butter has ceased foaming, add the pears and allow to cook for 3 minutes, shaking the pan gently as needed to prevent the pears from sticking. As necessary, add a little more butter. Sprinkle in the sugar and cook for a further 3-5 minutes; you may have to reduce the heat slightly. The pears should be quite soft and almost golden from the sweet buttery juices. Take off the heat and gently drain the slices of all excess liquid. Toss the slices with the flour and the lemon zest and set aside for the moment.
To prepare the crumble topping, mix together the sugars, flour and ground almonds, and then rub in the butter. When it is pea-consistency it is worked enough.
Lay the pear slices over the bottom of a shallow ovenproof dish, to a depth of about 2.5cm (1 in). Sprinkle the topping over the pears to a depth of about 1cm (½ in). Scatter the flaked almonds over the top. Bake in the oven for about 30 minutes, until the top is golden and firm. Remove from the oven.
To make the raspberry cream, purée the raspberries in a food processor. Pass the purée through a sieve to remove the seeds. Add the sugar and lemon juice. Whip the cream until it just holds soft peaks and then fold it into the purée. Adjust the sweetness, if necessary, by adding a little more sugar.
To make the cheat’s custard, combine the double cream, evaporated milk, vanilla paste and shop-brought custard in a pan. Bring to the boil, whisking continuously and simmer until thickened.
To serve, scoop a big spoonful of the pear crumble into a soup plate or shallow bowl and top with a generous dollop of the raspberry cream and pour over the cheat’s custard. Serve at once, warm rather than hot.

Ingredients

Juice of 1 lemon
6 ripe Comice, Conference or Concorde pears
4 tbsp unsalted butter
4-8tbsp sugar, depending on pears
1 tbsp plain white flour
Grated zest of 1 lemon

For the crumble topping

50g white sugar
50g golden brown sugar
100g plain white flour
100g unsalted butter, chilled and diced
65g ground almonds
65g flaked almonds

For the raspberry cream

200g fresh or frozen raspberries
50g sugar
1 tsp lemon juice
150ml whipping cream

For the cheat's custard

250ml evaporated milk
250ml shop brought custard
250ml double cream
1 tsp vanilla paste

Method

Preheat the oven to 190°C.
To prepare the pears, place the lemon juice in a small bowl and, as you peel the pears, roll them in the juice to avoid discoloration. Halve the pears and scoop out the cores. Slice each lengthways into about eight wedges. Return the pieces to the lemon juice.
Heat a large frying pan over a moderate hear and melt 2 tbsp of the butter. When the butter has ceased foaming, add the pears and allow to cook for 3 minutes, shaking the pan gently as needed to prevent the pears from sticking. As necessary, add a little more butter. Sprinkle in the sugar and cook for a further 3-5 minutes; you may have to reduce the heat slightly. The pears should be quite soft and almost golden from the sweet buttery juices. Take off the heat and gently drain the slices of all excess liquid. Toss the slices with the flour and the lemon zest and set aside for the moment.
To prepare the crumble topping, mix together the sugars, flour and ground almonds, and then rub in the butter. When it is pea-consistency it is worked enough.
Lay the pear slices over the bottom of a shallow ovenproof dish, to a depth of about 2.5cm (1 in). Sprinkle the topping over the pears to a depth of about 1cm (½ in). Scatter the flaked almonds over the top. Bake in the oven for about 30 minutes, until the top is golden and firm. Remove from the oven.
To make the raspberry cream, purée the raspberries in a food processor. Pass the purée through a sieve to remove the seeds. Add the sugar and lemon juice. Whip the cream until it just holds soft peaks and then fold it into the purée. Adjust the sweetness, if necessary, by adding a little more sugar.
To make the cheat’s custard, combine the double cream, evaporated milk, vanilla paste and shop-brought custard in a pan. Bring to the boil, whisking continuously and simmer until thickened.
To serve, scoop a big spoonful of the pear crumble into a soup plate or shallow bowl and top with a generous dollop of the raspberry cream and pour over the cheat’s custard. Serve at once, warm rather than hot.