Perfect Pesach Fruit Crisp
The perfect crumble — not too dry, not too mushy — combined with a sweet fruit filling makes this Pesach fruit crisp a great side dish or dessert for Pesach!
I am pretty much a purist when it comes to Pesach recipes. You won’t find me making quinoa pizza dough or almond tortillas. The recipes I make are simple, traditional, extremely flavorful and, of course, easy. This particular recipe takes a little more time, but don’t worry, I’ll give you shortcut options!
It took me a long time to develop the perfect Pesach crumble. For years, I could not get it right. It always ended up too dry or too wet and mushy or it simply did not crumble well. I almost gave up but then, when I was coming out with My Pesach Kitchen cookbook, I was determined to figure it out. Working with almond flour is very very tricky, because of the oils in the nuts and how it can start to break down. I found that the best test was to make the crumbs, stick them in the fridge overnight and continue the next day to see how they lasted.
I love the combination of apples, strawberries and pears. If you don’t use strawberries, you can totally skip those (you can also use frozen strawberries), and if you only want to use apples, you can sub with more apples instead. This recipe is very forgiving. You can really use any fruit you like, or evne pie filling if you can find that for Pesach. Also, you don’t have to cook the fruit first, though I suggest you do. It’s an extra step but it really brings out the flavor.
I cook the fruit in a soup pot. It looks like a lot at first, but then it starts to break down and reduces in volume.
I usually use brown sugar in crumbles, because it gives the crumbs a delicious, elevated flavor. However I know many people don’t use brown sugar on Pesach so I decided to skip it here. If you do use brown sugar, you can swap it.
When I posted this recipe on Instagram, I got dozens of inquiries for a nut-free version. I am still working on it… it’s not so simple. The common option is crushing a ton of lady fingers, which I refuse to do.
I serve this as a sweet side during the main course, but it’s also delicious as a warm dessert served with a scoop of ice cream. The joke in my family is that every time we serve a fruit crisp as a side dish, my father says, “Hey! It’s dessert time already?” He’s a purely savory person and, like me, does not like to mix his chicken and potato kugel with fruit. I always save him a portion to enjoy during the dessert course.
The Pesach fruit crisp freezes very well, raw or baked. I personally like to bake it before freezing, so it’s one less thing to worry about. Defrost fully at room temp and then warm in the oven uncovered until heated through.
Perfect Pesach Fruit Crisp
Ingredients
Fruit Filling
- 5 large baking apples (I like Cortland), peeled and diced
- 2 pears, peeled and diced
- 16 oz. strawberries, fresh or frozen, cleaned and sliced
- ¼ cup water
Crumble
- 2 cups almond flour*
- 1½ cups potato starch
- ½ cup oil
- ¾ cup sugar
- 1 tsp cinnamon
Instructions
- For the filling, place fruit and water in a saucepan. Bring to a simmer, stirring every so often so it doesn't burn. The fruit will start to soften and break down. Simmer for about 20 minutes.**
- Preheat oven to 350°F and spray a 9×13 pan or oven-to-table dish well with cooking spray.
- For the crumble, place all ingredients in a bowl and mix gently with your fingers until it forms a nice crumb.
- Press two-thirds of the crumbs into bottom of the prepared pan. Pour fruit mixture over crumbs. Top with remaining crumbs.
- Bake for 45 minutes.
Notes
Recipe by Faigy Murray | https://mykitchenmystudio.com/perfect-pesach-fruit-crisp/
