Pear and Gorgonzola Crumble

Categories : baked sweets, desserts & sweet snacks, Recipes

Gorgonzola does a little guest starring in a dessert today. Since it pairs so well with pears (sorry, couldn’t resist) I made a crumble and put some in.

Yikes, stinky cheese in our dessert? You may be thinking I’ve gone a bit mad, or you may already be fantasising about how it tastes. Depends how much of a cheese person you are. But have you tried pear with gorgonzola? Or any blue cheese for that matter? It’s a great combo. And since this particular stinky cheese is slightly sweet, it works very well in desserts. The inspiration came from this beautiful crisp by How Sweet It Is, which I’ve tried and tested as is with figs (amazing). But I wanted to try pears instead. So I did. It’s yummy. But you’ve got to love cheese!

If cheese in a dessert isn’t your thing, just omit the gorgonzola for a tasty but plain pear crumble, or better yet, go for this chocolate one! I’ve got you covered.

So, what really strange cheese combos have you tried recently?

Ingredients

For the filling

1 kg pears, peeled, cored and cut into small pieces

2 Tbs brown sugar, granulated

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1/8 tsp salt

1 Tbs flour

120 gr gorgonzola cheese

For the topping

100 gr oats, quick cooking (1 cup*)

130 gr brown sugar, granulated (1/2 cup)

1/4 tsp salt

30 gr all purpose flour (4 Tbs)

60 gr butter, cold, cubed (4 Tbs + 1 ½ tsp)

Step 1

Mix the pears with the sugar, cinnamon, salt and flour for the filling. Transfer to a 24 cm round baking dish.

Step 2

Dot pieces of gorgonzola here and there, and push them down to nestle them in the filling. Set aside. Preheat the oven to 160C fan (or 180C conventional).

Step 3

Whisk the oats, brown sugar, salt and flour in a large bowl to mix. Add the butter and rub with your fingers till it’s incorporated. The mixture should resemble large, wet crumbs. Sprinkle it over the filling and bake for 40 minutes or until golden and bubbling at the sides.

Step 4

Serve warm or at room temperature with cream, custard or ice cream.

Note: Some readers have requested that I use volume measurements instead of weight in my recipes so they are more familiar for US readers. Since I feel volume is not as accurate as weight (especially when readers might be anywhere in the world, and especially in baking), I can’t switch. I only use volume when listing small amounts because they are easier to measure that way (e.g. one tablespoon of flour). I will however try and use both measurements when possible. Please keep in mind though that the volume ones are approximate. Thanks!

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