end of summer crumble

It's not really the end of summer, at least not in my book (and despite the emergency jumper purchases we had to make in San Francisco). 

I don't know at what point summer ends for me. As we've been travelling around California in the last few days, we seem to go from season to season within the blink of an eye. I've never been so glad of my cardigan addiction in my life. 

We're back in LA now for the last stretch of our holiday. My boyfriend's plans for the next week revolve around the NFL. My plans include plenty of beach time and not much else. Hardly the end of summer really.

My thoughts have, inevitably, started to turn towards going home next week though. Whilst I would be quite happy to stay pottering around here forever, there is a part of me that's looking forward to getting back into the swing of a slightly more normal life. There are projects to start and friends to catch up with. There are (strictly metaphorical) brand new notebooks waiting to be written in. 

I've called this an end of summer crumble because it used up the last of some strawberries and some blackberries that I had on hand but really, I am happy to eat a crumble at any time of year. I love that sticky, jammy puddle of fruit nestling under the buttery topping. 

My preference is to serve a simple vanilla ice cream alongside it but I will not judge you if you have custard or cream. Or both as was my grandfather's wont. The only way I deviate from my grandmother's recipe is to use demerara or turbinado sugar instead of caster/granulated sugar. I love the flavour that a brown sugar brings and that slight extra crunch from the coarse crystals. Really though, it's up to you. Crumble is one of those desserts that can take whatever you can throw at it. 

~

End of summer crumble

Yield: Serves 2

Ingredients

• 250g (approx 2 cups) mixed berries
• 1 tablespoon demerara sugar
• 55g (1/4 cup) unsalted butter, cold and roughly cubed
• 55g (just over 1/4 cup) demerara sugar
• 115g (1 cup) flour (plain or whole wheat is fine)
• A pinch of salt

Cooking Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F.
2. Combine the fruit with a tablespoon of sugar in a small oven dish.
3. To make the topping, combine the rest of the sugar, the butter, the flour and the salt in a large bowl and rub together with your fingertips until you have something that resembles breadcrumbs.
4. Sprinkle the topping over the fruit and bake for 25-35 minutes until golden brown.