Fresh Cherry Crumble

A True Summer Classic

Prep: 25 mins

Cook: 40 mins

Total: 65 mins

Servings: 4 to 6 servings

When summer comes, it is hard to resist those plump, deep red cherries piled high at the market. But we can only eat o many, right? As delicious as they are, it gets a little tiresome with those pits. That’s when a warm fruit crumble comes into play.

Here, fresh, sweet cherries are the star of these individual desserts where the bubbling juicy fruit is covered with a crunchy, buttery brown sugar crumble studded with nuts. Top each crumble with vanilla ice cream for pure perfection.

Crisps, Crumbles, and Cobblers—Oh My!

Once summer rolls around, you’ll get bombarded by recipes that make the most of the season’s bounty of delicious fruit, all of which seem to start with the letter C. While they are all tasty ways to bake with cherries, peaches, and blueberries (to name a few of our favorite warm weather fruits), there are slight differences between each.

Crisps and crumbles both call for a sweet streusel topping, the former of which also include oats. Cobblers, on the other hand, use a biscuit topping. You can often swap out fruits between the three or even use a combination of whatever looks best at the market.

How to Quickly Pit Cherries Without a Cherry Pitter

The best thing about fresh cherries is how they taste. The worst thing about fresh cherries is that we have to pit them. But there are some tricks to make this tedious job a little easier. There are some good cherry pitters on the market, but if you are not interested in another kitchen gadget, not to worry, there are plenty of items you probably have in the house that will do the job just fine.

One is a pastry tip (the metal piece that you put on the end of the pastry bag to pipe frosting). Place it tip-side up on a cutting board and then push the cherry onto it—the pit should pop right out. You can also use a chopstick, pushing it in one end until the pit comes out the other. If the only tool you seem to have is a paperclip, that should work as well; unfold it once (keeping two curved ends) and push it inside the cherry, digging around until the pit comes out.

«I’m always excited to spot fresh cherries at the market come summer, but never manage to make it through the entire bag before they get too ripe. This recipe is a great way to turn those extra cherries into a tasty dessert that’s perfect for summer dinner parties or, if you make it in a casserole dish, a backyard cookout. The contrast between the cherry filling and crisp streusel topping is lovely, especially with a scoop of ice cream.»—Patty Lee

A Note From Our Recipe Tester

Ingredients

For the Crumble

• Cooking spray, or butter, for the ramekins

• 4 cups cherries (about 1 pound), pitted

• 3/4 cup water

• 3/4 cup sugar

• 2 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch

For the Crumble Topping

• 4 tablespoons butter, diced into small cubes

• 1/3 cup brown sugar

• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour

• 1/2 cup pecans, finely chopped

Steps to Make It

1. Gather the ingredients.

   

2. Preheat oven to 375 F. Lightly spray 4 (7- to 8-ounce) ramekins or 5 to 6 (5- or 6-ounce) ramekins or custard cups with cooking spray. Alternatively, lightly butter bottoms and sides.

   

3. Combine cherries, water, sugar, and cornstarch in a medium saucepan and stir to blend. Place pan over medium heat and bring to a simmer.

   

4. Reduce heat and continue simmering, uncovered, for 10 minutes, stirring frequently.

   

5. As the cherry mixture simmers, combine topping ingredients in a medium bowl using a fork or your fingers.

   

6. Divide cherry mixture among ramekins.

   

7. Sprinkle topping evenly over each filled ramekin.

   

8. Put ramekins in oven with a baking sheet on rack below to catch drips. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until topping is browned and filling is bubbly.

   

   

   Recipe Variations

   • If you don't have the proper dishes for individual crumbles, you can make one large dessert. Spray or butter a 9 x 13-inch pan and fill with cherry mixture. Then sprinkle the crumble over the entire top. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes or until the filling bubbles and the topping is golden.
   • A crisp is a similar dessert to a crumble (and the terms are interchangeable at times), but it includes oats in the topping mixture. If you would like, add about 2/3 cup of oats to the topping ingredients. Of course, if you have a surplus of other fresh fruits, you can substitute for the cherries. Blueberries, apricots, plums, and peaches are all wonderful options when making a crumble.

Nutrition Facts
Servings: 4 to 6
Amount per serving
Calories	375
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 14g	18%
Saturated Fat 5g	27%
Cholesterol 20mg	7%
Sodium 66mg	3%
Total Carbohydrate 63g	23%
Dietary Fiber 3g	12%
Total Sugars 48g
Protein 3g
Vitamin C 7mg	35%
Calcium 34mg	3%
Iron 1mg	7%
Potassium 280mg	6%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.