This warm hedgerow crumble with hazelnut custard piles juicy berries and tart apples under a buttery brown sugar topping for the perfect sweet ending to an evening in the Shire! It’s the ideal dessert for a hobbit after a hearty plate of our toad in the hole with cider onion gravy.
This recipe is featured in our A Feast at The Green Dragon cookbook – coming soon!
At a Glance: Hedgerow Crumble with HAzelnut Custard
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cooking Time: 45 minute
- Steeping Time: 1 hour or up to overnight
- Total Time: ~2 hour 15 minutes (or longer)
- Servings: 8 servings
- Flavour: Fruity with a hint of spice, warm toasted nutty aroma
- Skill Level: Intermediate
- Why this Works: This sweet crumble is inspired by fruits, berries, and typically found in hedgerows. Sharp tangy fruit is topped with a buttery brown sugar crumble and a dollop of warm custard infused with roasted hazelnuts.
A Feast at the Green Dragon
As night settles over the Shire, the hobbits slowly begin to make their way to their favourite watering hole – The Green Dragon Inn. A warm fire is roaring in the hearth while the weathered beams and polished wooden tables gleam in the golden lantern light. With the day’s work over and only the long night ahead, the hobbits eagerly gather for a hearty meal, lively conversation, and pint of their favourite brew. The bustling kitchen at The Green Dragon is busy churning out hearty meals and tasty snacks to satisfy the hungriest hobbit while the barkeep hurries to keep the glasses filled. Whether you’re a local hobbit seeking friendly conversation or a lonely traveller looking for a warm meal and bed, you’re sure to find both in the cheerful hospitality of The Green Dragon.
From the Hedgerow
After a hearty dinner at the Green Dragon, it’s time for a sweet treat to end the evening. Gathered from the hedgerows that grow along the fields and gardens of the Shire, this blend of juicy berries and tart apples make the perfect warm fruit crumble. A splash of sloe gin is added to the fruit along with a pinch of spice. The crumble is topped with a buttery brown sugar topping that’s studded with toasted hazelnuts. A warm custard infused with even more toasted hazelnuts is spooned over the sweet and tangy hedgerow crumble. With night closing in, the hobbits are content to visit with their old friends and neighbours over a delicious dessert next to the glowing embers in the fireplace of The Green Dragon Inn.
Ingredients for Hedgerow Crumble with Hazelnut Custard
Fruit: This crumble uses a blend of fruits that are often found in hedgerows, such as blackberries. Raspberries are another berry that is sometimes found hedgerows in our local area. Crab apples are another hedgerow fruit that have a short season and can be difficult to source, therefore, we chose to use regular apples instead. For another fruit crisp, try our rhubarb apple crisp with hay custard.
Hazelnuts: Toasted hazelnuts are infused into the warm custard as well as adding crunch to the crumble topping. The skins can be removed after toasting the hazelnuts. Instructions for toasting the nuts are included below. Hazelnuts are delicious in desserts like our mead sabayon with strawberries and hazelnut meringue as well as cozy breakfasts like our creamy barley porridge with apples.
Sugar: This crumble recipe uses granulated sugar in the custard and fruit filling and brown sugar in the crumble topping.
Sloe gin: I like adding a splash of sloe gin to the fruit filling as a nod to the hedgerow inspiration – sloe berries are a common hedgerow fruit. Sloe gin is a fruit liqueur made with gin and sloe berries. It can sometimes be difficult to source so some great substitutes would be to use a blackberry liqueur or a blackcurrant liqueur, such as Crème de Cassis. Of course, the liqueur can be omitted to make the dish non-alcoholic.
Frangelico: This hazelnut flavoured liqueur adds even more hazelnut flavour to the custard sauce. However if you want to make this dish non-alcoholic you can omit the liqueur – the custard will still have a delicious hazelnut flavour with it.
Toasting Hazelnuts
I find hazelnuts taste so much better toasted rather than raw. Toasting the nuts is also a great way to remove the skins.
To toast the hazelnuts, bake the nuts at 350°F for 5-7 minutes until they smell toasted. You can check if the nuts are toasted by cutting one in half – the inside of the nut should be well browned. To peel the hazelnuts, wrap the warm nuts in a tea towel and rub them together. The friction will remove most of the skin. This can damage or discolour the tea towel so choose one that you don’t mind getting a bit dirty.
How to Make Hedgerow Crumble with Hazelnut Custard
1. Steep the hazelnut cream
Combine the cream and milk in a medium saucepan and place over medium high heat. Add the chopped hazelnuts and bring the cream mixture up to a gentle simmer. Remove from the heat, cover, and let steep for at least 1 hour or up to overnight. For best flavour, try to steep the hazelnuts for several hours.
2. Blend the hazelnuts
FAfter steeping, transfer the hazelnut cream mixture to a blender and blend until the nuts are finely ground. Pass the mixture through a fine mesh strainer, pressing down on the nut pulp to extract as much of the hazelnut cream as possible. Measure the hazelnut cream, adding equal parts milk and cream to make 2 cups total liquid.
3. Make the hazelnut custard
Return the cream mixture to a saucepan and place over medium heat. Meanwhile, in a small bowl combine the egg yolks, sugar, and cornstarch. Whisk together well until the mixture looks pale yellow in colour.
Just before the hazelnut cream begins to boil remove it from the heat. Gradually temper the hot hazelnut cream into the egg yolk mixture. Add a small splash of the hazelnut cream and whisk it in completely before repeating. Do this until most of the cream has been added.
Return the mixture to the saucepan and continue to cook over medium heat, stirring constantly. Bring the custard just up to a boil and then turn the heat off. Add the butter and Frangelico and whisk together. Pour the custard into a bowl and cover with a layer of cling film to prevent a skin from forming.
4. Make the crumble topping
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray an 11″ by 7″ baking dish with non-stick spray and set aside. In a mixing bowl, combine 1 1/2 cups of the flour with the brown sugar, chopped hazelnuts, 1 tsp cinnamon, allspice, and kosher salt. Add the melted butter and mix together to make a crumble. Set aside.
5. Make the fruit filling
In a mixing bowl combine the apples, blackberries, and raspberries. Drizzle with the lemon juice and sloe gin. Add the granulated sugar, the remaining 3 tbsp flour, and 1 tsp cinnamon. Stir together until the dry ingredients coat the fruit.Â
6. Assemble and bake the crumble
Transfer the fruit to the prepared baking dish. Top with the crumble and bake for 45 to 50 minutes until the fruit is bubbly around the edges and fully cooked.
7. Serve the Hedgerow Crumble with Hazelnut Custard
The hazelnut custard can be served either cold or warmed up. Top each serving of hedgerow crumble with a generous dollop of the hazelnut custard and enjoy!
