This Pimm’s Crumble is for the booze lovers. For the people who knock back way too many cocktails on a sunny summer’s day. The ones who head straight for the champagne truffle in that big box of chocolates. We’ve all got that one friend who’s never more than two metres away from a glass of wine, right? Well, this is their dessert.
Yep, I’ve got the Pimm’s out again. Not satisfied with adding everyone’s favourite summer liqueur to cupcakes, I’m now chucking it into desserts too. And is there a better dessert than a crumble? I think not.
This recipe is based on my Toffee Apple Crumble, but with much less caramel and much more alcohol. And no apples. The fruits in here are strawberries and raspberries, which might seem a bit of an ‘out there’ choice for a crumble, but I’m not one for following rules. Your berries won’t turn into a shapeless mush in the oven – they actually hold up pretty well. Even once you’ve soaked them in Pimm’s.
My Pimm’s Crumble is a bit strong. I left my berries to soak up some Pimm’s overnight, and they were incredibly… well… Pimmsy. My worries over whether this crumble was going to end up just tasting like berries and not much else were unbelievably unfounded. So if you want something a little less strong, then maybe leave them to soak for an hour or two. But then again, Katie loved it just the way it was.
She does regularly drink gin though, so maybe best not to base your alcohol tolerance levels on her’s.
The absolute best way to serve this Pimm’s crumble is warm, with a generous scoop of vanilla ice cream. Does anyone else live for the way hot desserts and cold ice cream melt together in your bowl? I’m 100% sure that it’s not just me.
I love that this is a definite summer dessert, as opposed to your standard apple crumble, which is the perfect autumn/winter pudding. Crumble just got summery people ☀️
- 400g (2¾ cups) fresh strawberries
- 200g (1¾ cups) fresh raspberries
- 250ml (1 cup) Pimm's no.1 cup
- 50g (¼ cup) caster sugar (US granulated)
- 3 tablespoons cornflour or cornstarch
- 100g (¾ cups) plain or all-purpose flour
- 75g (¼ cup + 1 tablespoon) unsalted butter, chilled
- 75g (1 cup) jumbo rolled oats
- 100g (½ cup) caster sugar (US granulated)
- Remove the stems from the strawberries, and cut any large ones in half. Place them in a bowl with the raspberries, and cover with Pimm's. Cover and leave to infuse in the fridge for two hours (or overnight if you want it much much stronger).
- Once the fruit has finished infusing, preheat the oven to 180°C / 350°F (160°C fan). Strain the Pimm's off the fruit and discard (or save to drink later) and place the soaked fruit into the bottom of a crumble dish (mine is about 20cm x 30cm). Sprinkle the fruit with the sugar and cornflour, and toss around with a spoon to coat the fruit. Set aside.
- To make the crumble topping, mix the flour and butter together in a medium sized bowl, until the lumps of butter are very small. You can use your hands to rub the butter into the flour, or use a food processor or electric whisk. Add the oats and the sugar to the bowl, and mix well using a spoon or spatula. Spoon the crumble topping over the berry filling, making sure there is an even layer all over. Press down gently with your hands to create a nice flat top.
- Place the crumble in the preheated oven for 40-45 minutes, or until the crumble topping is golden brown. Serve warm with plenty of vanilla ice cream or custard.
- The crumble can be prepared ahead of time and kept in the fridge for a few hours before baking. Once baked, it is best eaten on the day. If necessary, any leftover crumble can be stored in the fridge and then reheated in the oven or microwave.
I know you were thinking of Amy when you wrote that first paragraph.
I think this crumble upped my alcohol tolerance… and my Pimm’s tolerance tbh.