Well, it’s Saturday, and the final day of January. There’s only one thing for it; mixed berry crumble with ricotta vanilla cream!
I’m kind of excited that January’s over. It’s been an odd sort of start to the year, seeing the loss of several inspirational artists, and it seems like it’s been a difficult month in general for a lot of the people that I love. On the other hand, I feel like I’ve accomplished quited a bit already this year and, moving ever closer to spring, maybe the hard part of the year is behind us so we can move into the rest of it with excitement! Not to mention, I have just learned that this year is the International Year of Pulses! So that’s got to be a sign of great things to look forward to.
So to kick it off, some crumble!
Crumble is magnificent. It’s easy to make, you can put nearly anything in (or on) it that you want, and there’s no reason for it to not be a healthy and nourishing dessert. Filled with fruit, whole grains, and some healthy oils, you could eat it for breakfast and know you’re making your body and mind happy.
To go along with it I made this ricotta vanilla cream. I had made some ricotta the other day and this seemed like the perfect chance to make something a little bit different with it. I loosely based the recipe on this one that I found in Moosewood Restaurant Low-Fat Favourites. I used milk with the ricotta in mine to make it more the consistency of pouring cream. It complements this crumble beautifully and is loaded with protein!
Happy final day of January!! Hoping your next 11 months (and well beyond) are happy and healthy!
- 500g or 3 cups of mixed frozen berries (or berries of your choice)
- 1 Tbsp maple syrup or honey
- 100ml or 1/3 of a cup of hot water
- 95g or 1 cup of oats (not the quick-cook kind)
- 100g or 3/4 cup of hazelnuts, chopped quite finely
- 2 Tbsp melted coconut oil
- 1 1/2 Tbsp maple syrup, or honey
- 200g or 3/4 cup of ricotta
- 140ml or 1/2 cup of milk
- 1 1/2 Tbsp maple syrup or honey
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius.
- Place half of the berries in a medium sized pot with the water and maple syrup or honey, set it over medium heat and bring it to a simmer. Allow it to simmer, stirring frequently, for about 8 minutes, or until the juices from the berries have reduced down a bit. Add the remaining berries and continue to cook for about another 3 minutes, until all of the berries are warmed through.
- Tip the berries into an oven proof dish and set aside.
- To make the crumble, combine the oats, nuts, oil and maple syrup or honey in a large bowl. Stir until the nuts and oats are all evenly covered with the syrup/oil mixture and are clumping together a bit.
- Sprinkle the crumble evenly over the berries and place it in the pre-heated oven.
- Bake for about 20 minutes, until the topping is deep golden. Remove from the oven.
- Meanwhile, to make the cream, place all of the ingredients into a blender and blitz for a few seconds until smooth.