Cherry Raspberry Crumble

Sweet dark cherries, tart raspberries, and a buttery oat crumble make this Cherry Raspberry Crumble with Cardamom Custard Sauce the perfect balance.

What is streusel?

Streusel is similar to the crumb topping you would find on a coffee cake but it is usually a bit thicker and slightly less crumbly. Almost like sugar cookie dough that gets crumbled on top and bakes into little crunchy crumbly bits. This version includes whole rolled oats for a bit of extra flavor and texture.

What’s the difference between a cobbler, crumble, and a crisp?

Ok to be honest I had to look this one up too because in Germany there aren’t all of these versions. All three are baked fruit with SOMETHING on top. However, a cobbler has more of a biscuit/pie dough topping whereas crumbles and crisps have a crumblier, streusel like topping, usually including the addition of oats. Based on what I can find, a crumble and a crisp are basically the same just from different places.

What type of Cardamom should I use?

So with cardamom you can often find it pre-ground at the grocery store which is a combo of the seeds and their pods. If possible I recommend looking for just the seeds (if you’re in nyc Kalustyans has them!) or the whole pod which you can smash, take the little black seeds out and then use a spice grinder to grind them down.

Tips for making a Cherry Raspberry Crumble

• The thing about crumbles is you can kind of adjust how much you’re making based on how much fruit you have and how big your baking dish is! The recipe below is a base but you can scale it up or down with a little bit of math!
• If you’re making this in late summer, the cherries can also be replaced with plums and it will be delicious, just decrease the starch amount by 50% because they don’t release as many juices.
• The crumble will work best with room temp/soft butter but if yours is too melty just mix up the crumble and then put it in the fridge to firm up a little.
• Fresh or frozen berries will work here! If you don’t have ripe summer fruit I would use frozen!
• Let the crumble cool for 15 minutes post bake so that the starch has a chance to thicken the juices!
• This custard recipe is quite simple but it isn’t a thick custard – if you want to thicken it, you can always add a bit of starch into the sugar before cooking it!

Additional recipes to try!

• Yogurt Plum Cake
• Plum Bars with Oat Streusel
• Simple Plum Cake

Ingredients for a Cherry Raspberry Crumble & Cardamom Custard

• Cherries: Dark Sweet or Sour Cherries will work! Of course sour cherries will create a more tart crumble but if you can find them I kinda love it.
• Raspberries: Fresh or frozen raspberries will work!
• Sugar: White granulated sugar is used in the berry filling, the streusel, and the custard.
• Corn Starch: A bit of starch is added into the cherries to help absorb and thicken the juices. To make a thicker custard, add in 1 tablespoon of starch with the sugar before adding in the milk!
• Butter: Butter is the key to rich and crisp streusel and creates a creamy, silky custard.
• Salt: Fine sea salt helps balance out all of the sweetness and enhances the flavors.
• Vanilla Extract: Vanilla adds flavor and enhances the sweetness of the streusel and custard.
• All Purpose Flour: Any all purpose flour will work for this crumble! You could also use whole wheat flour or even substitute gluten free flour although you may need a little extra.
• Oats: I love using whole rolled oats in the streusel! If you want to make the recipe gluten free with gluten free flour, be sure to use gluten free oats.
• Milk: I prefer to use whole milk for the custard!
• Cardamom: As mentioned above, using only the seeds portion of the cardamom pod will create that beautiful speckled look in the custard sauce. If using pre-ground cardamom from the store your custard may have a slightly grey tinge to it.
• Egg yolks: Egg yolks are crucial to thickening and adding flavor to the custard.

How to make a Cherry Raspberry Crumble?

Fruit Filling

• Preheat the oven to 375 F and place a rack in the center of the oven.
• Rinse, pit, and halve the cherries. Toss them with the sugar and cornstarch until no white bits remain and the whole things starts to look a little syrupy. If using frozen cherries no need to defrost them first.
• Fill your baking dish about 3/4 full with the cherries.
• Pack the raspberries (fresh or frozen) on top. Now there should be about 1/2″ of space left to the top of the baking dish.

Streusel

• In a medium bowl use a fork to stir together the soft butter, vanilla, sugar and salt. Pour in the flour and oats.
• Using the fork again, rub the butter mixture into the dry ingredients until all of it has been fully mixed in.

Assemble and Bake the Crumble

• Clump the streusel and pack it onto the surface of the fruit. It should be mounded on top of the baking dish ok?
• Place the dish into the preheated oven with a baking sheet underneath to catch any drippings.
• Bake for 30 minutes. Rotate the cake 180 degrees and bake for 30 more minutes until the fruit is bubbling and the streusel is golden brown. You may need to bake longer if using a bigger baking dish or a little shorter if using a small one.
• Check after 45 minutes, it should start to bubble but in either case you’ll want to continue baking for at least 10-15 minutes after it has started bubbling.
• If it gets too dark, lay a piece of foil over top to prevent further browning.
• Once baked, remove from the oven and leave to cool for 15 minutes on a wire rack just so you don’t burn your mouth and the juices can thicken.

Cardamom Custard Sauce

• While the crumble bakes, make the custard sauce.
• If using whole cardamom pods, use a mortar and pestle to smash the pods and get the seeds out. Then remove the pods and just grind down the seeds. If starting with just seeds of course, start by grinding those! A spice grinder will work too!
• Separate the eggs and place the egg yolks in a medium heat safe mixing bowl. Save the egg whites in the fridge for something else!
• Pour the milk into a medium sauce pot along with the ground cardamom and place it over medium low heat until it starts to steam.
• While the milk heats up, whisk the sugar into the egg yolks along with the salt.
• Place the mixing bowl on a damp rag to keep it from spinning.
• Once the milk is steaming, turn off the heat and slowly pour the milk into the egg yolk mixture – whisking continuously.
• Then pour the whole custard mixture back into the pot.
• Heat over medium low heat, using a rubber spatula to stir the custard constantly. The mixture will thicken slightly and the small surface bubbles will disappear which is when you’ll know it’s ready to remove from the heat.
• Turn off the heat and pour the custard through a fine mesh sieve into a medium heat safe bowl and whisk in the butter and vanilla. If you don’t have vanilla bean paste, vanilla extract will work too!
• Cover the surface of the custard with a sheet of plastic to prevent it from forming a skin. Leave it to cool to room temperature – if making ahead you can then place it in the fridge.

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