Easy Old-Fashioned Cherry Crumble

By Rebecca St. Clair

This easy old-fashioned cherry crumble is bursting with warm, sunny, ruby-red cherries. The bright sweet filling is crowned with a soft and lightly crispy crumble crust for the perfect sweet-tart balance.

Top a glistening warm ruby-red bowl with a generous helping of vanilla ice cream to melt and meld into the perfect decadent summery treat. Or top with a decadent cloud of fluffy whipped cream for the perfect end to any meal.

Can I use fresh or frozen cherries to make a cherry crumble?

You can absolutely make this easy cherry crisp any time of year by using fresh or frozen cherries. Just make sure the fresh cherries are pitted first before baking them into your dessert.

Can I make this into a cherry pie?

An easy way to make this cherry crumble into a heartier dessert is by adding pie dough! This cherry filling is the perfect amount to fill a classic 8 in. pie shell.

How to turn a cherry crisp into a cherry pie

• Line a pie plate with either homemade or store bought pie dough.
• Dock the bottom of the dough with a fork, this will allow steam to escape as it is baking.
• Chill the pie dough for 30 minutes.
• Line the dough with parchment or tin foil.
• Place pie weights or dried beans on top. This will stop the pie dough from puffing up in the oven.
• Bake in a preheated 375 °F (190 °C) oven for 15 minutes, or until the edges are golden.
• Remove the liner and the pie weights.
• Return to the oven for another 8 minutes, or until the bottom is starting to set an colour.
• Remove form the oven and fill with the cherries and corn syrup. Sprinkle the crumble mixture on top.
• Return to the oven and continue on with the rest of the recipe.

If you need a more in depth look at how to blind bake a pie crust click here!

Can I substitute the corn syrup?

I know a lot of people are turned off by corn syrup, but corn syrup and high-fructose corn syrup are not the same thing.

This is a real old-fashioned recipe, (passed down from my grandmother) where corn syrup was used regularly. So, I’ve decided to stick with the original recipe.

However, if you would like to use a different type of sweetener for this recipe use this guide for the proper ratio for different sweeteners. Corn syrup is a 1:1 ratio for white sugar.

Storage

Since cherry season comes and goes so quickly, this is a great recipe to use up some of those summer fresh cherries and store away for later.

Fridge

To store your cherry crumble in the fridge,

• Allow the crumble to cool to room temperature
• Cover completely with plastic wrap or airtight container.
• Store in the fridge for up to 5 days.

Can you freeze your cherry crisp?

Freezing your cherry crisp is the best way to store this dessert for a longer period of time.

• Allow the baked cherry crisp to cool to room temperature.
• Wrap completely in plastic wrap and then place in a freezer bag. Or wrap a second time in plastic wrap.
• Store in the freezer for up to 3 months.
• When ready to enjoy the crisp, remove it from the freezer and allow it to defrost in the fridge for 24 hour.
• Place back into a preheated 350 °F (180 °C) oven for 8-10 minutes or until heated through.

Can I substitute other fruit?

This fruit crisp recipe is easily exchanged for other fruit you may have on hand or that comes in season.

Some great options are,

• rhubarb
• berries
• peaches
• nectarines
• plums

You can make this recipe with harder fruits like apples but these will need to be cooked for longer to soften the fruit.

How to make an easy Old-Fashioned cherry crisp

Ingredients

3 cups pitted cherries (fresh or frozen)

1/3 cup corn syrup 80 ml

2 teaspoons cornstarch 10 ml

1/3 cup softened butter 75 g

1 ¼ cups brown sugar 250 g

1/4 teaspoon salt 1.75 ml

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon 2.5 ml

1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour 187 g

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 375 °F (190 °C).
2. Remove any pits from your cherries.
3. Place the cherries into a greased 8 x 8 in. or square casserole dish and sprinkle the cornstarch over top.
4. Drizzle evenly, on top, 1/3 cup of corn syrup.
5. In a medium bowl, beat the butter and brown sugar together until light and creamy.
6. Sprinkle in the salt, cinnamon and all-purpose flour.
7. Mix and break it up, until you have a crumbly mixture.

8. Layer the crumble topping on top of the fruit.

9. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the topping is lightly golden.

10. Remove and allow to cool slightly before serving. The sauce will thicken as it cools.

11. Serve in bowls with ice cream or a generous dollop of whipped cream on top.

Craving more? these are some of my favourite garden fresh recipes!

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