I’ve been vegan for almost five years now after being a vegetarian for more than twenty years. I’ve had to be creative and adjust my way of cooking even more then before using different ingredients.
A friend of mine use a method of cooking called macrobiotic. A couple of months ago, she told me that we digest exotic fruits better when cooked. So that day, I decided to cook one mango I cut and freshly cut pineapple pieces that I had in my fridge. I put the fruit in a pan with a little bit of water, keep stirring until soft, adding water if and when
needed. You can cook it until it’s pureed or stop cooking earlier, if you prefer chunky pieces. That’s up to your preference. I had a taste and I have to say, it was delicious. Cooking the fruits, brought the flavour up and I couldn’t stop eating it. So then I thought of making a fruit crumble with it. I usually use spelt flour for my cooking and baking because I like the lightness of it. In order to make the crumble topping vegan, I used coconut oil instead of butter. The coconut oil must be solid so you might need to put it in the fridge for a while to harden up. That depends where you live really! My coconut tin stays in my kitchen cupboard. And by the way, I use coconut oil for everything as a hair or body lotion, cooking, baking and even for my dog!
So for the crumble topping
200 g of flour to make a thick layer of crumble
80 g oats
2 Tbsp or more coconut oil (I don’t use measurement when I cook – I just add more or less as I go)
1 tsp cinnamon
Brown Or coconut sugar (The quantity depends on how sweet you prefer it – I use between 20-50 g) 80 -100 g for a very sweet dessert
Prep: 20min Cook:40min Ready in:1hr
Mix all ingredients for the filling and place in an ovenproof dish. If you decide to cook the fruit like I do, pour the mixture in a dish. Set aside.
Preheat the oven to 180 C / Gas 4.
Mix flour, oats, sugar, cinnamon and solidified coconut oil together in a bowl; use your fingers to mix well until you have a crumbly dough. Spread this over the fruit in the baking dish.
Bake for 40 minutes in preheated oven, or until the top is golden brown.
I had some frozen berries so I added just a handful (thawed) to the fruit mixture just to give it a little bit of colour.
You can use this recipe using any fruit you like. It can serve 6 or less depending on your appetite.
Enjoy with custard (not vegan) or oat cream and please let me know if you experiment and what you think of it.