Helen Cove’s recipe for Rhubarb, Pear and Hazelnut Melts with Brown Butter | Sweet place

RHubarb gives this favorite pudding a late-winter glow, while ripe, buttery pears soften the edges and add a delicate creaminess. Instead of the traditional rub method, the crumble is made by pouring hot brown butter straight into the dry ingredients, creating a crumbly topping with a deep toasted flavor. Leave out the crushed fennel seed if you like, but with this small addition, the butter briefly blooms, giving the whole thing a subtle aromatic lift.

Rhubarb, pear and hazelnut crumble with brown butter

Product 15 min
Cook 1 hour 15 minutes, plus cooling
serves 6

80 grams of sugar
Finely grate the juice of 1 orange and 1 tsp
1½ Tbsp of tapioca flouror cornflour
Rhubarb 500 gtrim and cut into approximately 2 cm pieces
2 large, ripe pearspeeled and cut into 2 cm pieces
1 A teaspoon of orange juice
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
Pour cream, vanilla ice cream or thick yogurtto serve

For the crumble topping
130 grams of unsalted butterplus 10 grams of extra, softened, ghee
1 teaspoon fennel seedslightly crushed (optional)
130 grams plain flour
80 grams of light brown sugar
70 grams of rolled oats
70g roasted blanched hazelnutsroughly cut
¼ teaspoon fine sea salt

Start by making the topping: Heat a small skillet over medium heat, swirling the pan occasionally until the butter is completely melted. Cook until the butter becomes fragrant and golden; It sputters and hisses at first, then quiets down as the foam subsides. When dark brown spots form on the bottom of the pan, remove the pan from the heat and, if using ground fennel seeds, stir and let it “bloom” for a couple of minutes.

Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, stir to combine flour, brown sugar, oats, hazelnuts, and salt. Pour over the warm brown butter (including the brown bits – they taste better) and stir until irregular clumps form; You want a mixture of both rubble and fine crumbs. Refrigerate the crumble mix for now.

Preheat the oven to 180C (160C fan)/350F/gas 4 and lightly grease an oval ovenproof dish (I used a 28cm x 16cm one) with an extra 10g of softened butter.

For the filling, put the sugar and orange zest in a large bowl and rub firmly until it’s fragrant and the sugar is orange in color. Stir in the tapioca flour, then add the rhubarb, pear, orange juice and vanilla. Toss gently to combine, then tip onto buttered baking dish. Bake for 45-50 minutes until juices are bubbling around the edges and golden on top. Remove and let stand for at least 15 minutes, then serve with whipped cream, vanilla ice cream or thick yogurt.