Uploaded July 2021 | Updated September 2026, 1 hour ago
As a Texan ex-pat, this dish seems to me like a Canadian version of cobbler. Similar to cobbler, the assembly of the dish is haphazard, and yet results in a delicious, fruity casserole-like dessert, which will go very well with ice cream, whipped cream, or creme anglaise. Unlike a cobbler, wherein a sloppy cake batter is topped with wet (usually canned) fruit, and then baked so that the cake rises around the fruit, the crisp is made a bit like a pie without a crust – by piling up the chopped fruit in the bottom of lined casserole, then topping with the “crisp” topping, a bit like streusel, and then baking so that the fruit turns into a lumpy jam while the topping bakes into a cookie-like crispy and incredibly buttery crumb atop the fruit.
The main determinant of how delicious a fruit dessert will be is tartness. If you are using a fruit which isn’t naturally very tart, you may wish to add some lemon juice. Another option is to mix in some tart fruit along with something else: pear-cranberry and peach-raspberry are some combinations which come to mind. In the video, we use strawberry and rhubarb, which is a regional tradition, and makes a deliciously tart crumble without any help.
Makes enough for x people, roughly n units.
Equipment:
• 13”x9” casserole dish
• large mixing bowl
• pastry knife for cutting topping together
Ingredients:
Crisp topping:
2/3 cup AP flour
2/3 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup butter softened; 1 stick
1/2 tsp vanilla or cinnamon, depending on fruit
1/4 tsp nutmeg or mace
1/4 tsp salt
Fruit filling:
2 cup strawberries sliced
2 cup rhubarb diced
1/2 cup white sugar
Procedure:
1. Preheat oven to 375F.
2. Clean the fruit and allow it to drain.
3. In the bowl, combine the flour, oats, brown sugar, butter, salt, mace or nutmeg and vanilla or cinnamon.
4. Using the pastry knife (or a food processor with the dough blade), cut the topping ingredients together until they form a homogeneous mass.
5. Line the inside of the casserole dish with butter.
6. Chop the fruit and place it into the casserole. If using more than one type, make sure it is adequately mixed or evenly distributed in layers.
7. Scatter the white sugar over the fruit.
8. Break the topping up into bits and scatter it over the top of the fruit.
9. Place the casserole into the center of the oven for 30-35 minutes, or until the topping is just starting to color. It will carry over a bit after coming out of the oven.
10. If desired, reheat and re-crisp previously baked crisp under the broiler at 500F for about 5 minutes before serving.
11. This is best enjoyed with a creamy accompaniment, such as (soft) ice cream, whipped chantilly cream, or creme anglaise. To soften a pint of (vanilla) ice cream for this purpose, I recommend putting the ice cream into the refrigerator before starting to make dinner. Then it’s perfect at dessert-time, and can go back into the freezer afterwards.
Music: bensound.com/royalty-free-music
As a Texan ex-pat, this dish seems to me like a Canadian version of cobbler. Similar to cobbler, the assembly of the dish is haphazard, and yet results in a delicious, fruity casserole-like dessert, which will go very well with ice cream, whipped cream, or creme anglaise. Unlike a cobbler, wherein a sloppy cake batter is topped with wet (usually canned) fruit, and then baked so that the cake rises around the fruit, the crisp is made a bit like a pie without a crust – by piling up the chopped fruit in the bottom of lined casserole, then topping with the “crisp” topping, a bit like streusel, and then baking so that the fruit turns into a lumpy jam while the topping bakes into a cookie-like crispy and incredibly buttery crumb atop the fruit.
The main determinant of how delicious a fruit dessert will be is tartness. If you are using a fruit which isn’t naturally very tart, you may wish to add some lemon juice. Another option is to mix in some tart fruit along with something else: pear-cranberry and peach-raspberry are some combinations which come to mind. In the video, we use strawberry and rhubarb, which is a regional tradition, and makes a deliciously tart crumble without any help.
Makes enough for x people, roughly n units.
Equipment:
• 13”x9” casserole dish
• large mixing bowl
• pastry knife for cutting topping together
Ingredients:
Crisp topping:
2/3 cup AP flour
2/3 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup butter softened; 1 stick
1/2 tsp vanilla or cinnamon, depending on fruit
1/4 tsp nutmeg or mace
1/4 tsp salt
Fruit filling:
2 cup strawberries sliced
2 cup rhubarb diced
1/2 cup white sugar
Procedure:
1. Preheat oven to 375F.
2. Clean the fruit and allow it to drain.
3. In the bowl, combine the flour, oats, brown sugar, butter, salt, mace or nutmeg and vanilla or cinnamon.
4. Using the pastry knife (or a food processor with the dough blade), cut the topping ingredients together until they form a homogeneous mass.
5. Line the inside of the casserole dish with butter.
6. Chop the fruit and place it into the casserole. If using more than one type, make sure it is adequately mixed or evenly distributed in layers.
7. Scatter the white sugar over the fruit.
8. Break the topping up into bits and scatter it over the top of the fruit.
9. Place the casserole into the center of the oven for 30-35 minutes, or until the topping is just starting to color. It will carry over a bit after coming out of the oven.
10. If desired, reheat and re-crisp previously baked crisp under the broiler at 500F for about 5 minutes before serving.
11. This is best enjoyed with a creamy accompaniment, such as (soft) ice cream, whipped chantilly cream, or creme anglaise. To soften a pint of (vanilla) ice cream for this purpose, I recommend putting the ice cream into the refrigerator before starting to make dinner. Then it’s perfect at dessert-time, and can go back into the freezer afterwards.
Music: bensound.com/royalty-free-music
