Crumbles have everything. They are sweet/tart, yielding, crunchy and caramelized. Another beauty of crumbles is that they have so few ingredients, sometimes as few as four – fruit, flour, butter and sugar – which, with the addition of heat, transform themselves into puddings of sublime comfort.
The most likely origin story for crumble is that it originated in the United Kingdom in the 18th century. At that time, crumble was known as ‘cottage pudding’ and was a more accessible and simpler alternative to pastry-based pies, which required more ingredients and time to prepare. Crumble gained popularity in Britain, Ireland, and across the Commonwealth of Nations, becoming a ‘national institution’.
While the exact origin of ‘banana’ crumble is less clear, the dessert is a variation of the traditional crumble, featuring bananas as the main fruit component. Have you ever wondered why you see crumble recipes for berries, pears, apple – just about any fruit but bananas? Generally, bananas don’t come to mind when we think about fruit desserts like crisps or crumbles. We naturally assume that they would not hold up to being baked. However, it all comes down to the ripeness of the bananas being used. You want the banana to be ripe as far as being a nice bright yellow without any green on it or any signs of starting to over ripen.
I think you will find banana crumble is extremely good all by itself but is made even better with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
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- 1/4 cup light or dark brown sugar
- 1/2 cup old-fashioned oats
- 1/4 cup flour
- 1/4 cup cold butter, cut into cubes
- 3/4 cup pecans, toasted
- 2 Tbsp butter,
- 1/4 cup light or brown sugar
- 1/4 cup orange juice
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp cardamom
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 6 medium bananas, cut into chunks about an inch long You want the banana to be ripe as far as being a nice bright yellow without any green on it or any signs of starting to over ripen.
- Vanilla ice cream OR whipped topping for serving
Ingredients
Topping
Filling
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- Combine all the topping ingredients ( except pecans) in a medium size bowl & work them together with your fingers until they become crumbly. Add the toasted pecans to the bowl. Stir to mix. Refrigerate the topping while you make the filling.
- In a saucepan, melt 2 tablespoons of butter over low heat. Add the brown sugar & stir until it dissolves, about 3 minutes. It will become a wet looking mass of sugar that slides around the pan. Stir in the cinnamon, cardamom & salt. Add the orange juice, be careful it will sizzle up & splatter a little bit. Cook about one minute until it thickens slightly.
- Preheat oven to 350 F.
- Add the banana chunks & toss gently until they are coated. Divide banana chunks with sauce evenly between 6 ramekins. Sprinkle the topping evenly over the bananas.
- Bake until topping is golden brown, about 20 minutes. Let cool about 10 minutes before serving.
- Top with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream if desired.
