GLUTEN-FREE HEMP SEED AND COCONUT CRUMBLE
Hemp Seeds may be the new quinoa but we don’t mind admitting to being faddish when the product is so good. We’ve been adding it to savoury biscuits, salads, vegetable dishes and gluten-free muesli. And now we’re using it to provide the crunch in an old-fashioned fruit crumble.
This Hemp Seed and Coconut Crumble can be used to top your family’s favourite cooked fruit base such as vanilla stewed apples or poached apricots. We’ve included a suggestion to suit more mature taste buds with a recipe for Red Wine Poached Pears. The crumble top and the ruby coloured fruit is a great combination.
And how about this? It turns out that the crumble mixture makes a lovely, chubby biscuit, a bit like a small rock cake, only tastier. We’ve finished our Gluten-Free Hemp and Coconut Biscuits with lemon icing to make them even more scrumptious.
We hope you too will enjoy baking with the mighty hemp seed.
Caren
HEMP SEED AND COCONUT CRUMBLE MIXTURE
Makes enough crumble for 6 serves in a 28-30cm round ovenproof dish
or equivalent dimension (or makes 25 biscuits-see below).
Crumble Topping
80 gm hulled hemp seeds
60 gm brown rice flour
50 gm flaked almonds
20 gm fine desiccated coconut
50 gm coarse shredded coconut
50 gm white sugar
2 tablespoons golden flaxseed, ground
2 tablespoons psyllium husks
¼ teaspoon crushed sea salt
80 gm butter, melted, cooled slightly
80 gm golden syrup
Red Wine Poached Pears (see below) or other moist, cooked fruit base
Whipped cream or ice cream to serve
Preheat oven to 180°C. Grease a 28-30cm round or equivalent, shallow, ovenproof dish.
Combine the dry ingredients then add the butter and golden syrup. Stir to just bring the mixture together. Do not overwork it and try to leave the mixture as loose as possible. A few lumpy pieces are okay. At this stage the mixture can be refrigerated for up to a week.
Place your chosen cooked fruit base in the prepared ovenproof dish and cover with the crumble mixture.
Bake for 15-20 minutes or until the topping is golden brown and beginning to caramelise, and the fruit is just beginning to bubble.
Serve with whipped cream or ice cream.
Red Wine Poached Pears
Serves 6
750 ml red wine (we used Tempranillo)
30 gm caster sugar (or to taste)
2 fresh bay leaves
3 large pears (we used Packham)
Combine the red wine, sugar and bay leaves in a heatproof pan large enough to accommodate the pear halves in one layer.
Bring to a simmer, stirring to dissolve the sugar.
Peel, halve and core the pears and place, cut side down in the liquid in the pan.
Simmer, covered, for 10-15 minutes before turning the pears over. Simmer for a further 10-15 minutes, covered, before turning over again. Baste. Test to see if the pears are cooked by inserting a fine skewer into the thickest part of a pear. It should not give any resistance.
Depending on ripeness, some of the pears may be ready before others, if this is the case, remove the cooked pears.
If the pears are not ready, simmer, covered, until cooked, basting the tops with the liquid from time to time. Depending on the ripeness of your pears, this could take up to around 45 minutes.
When the pears are cooked, check that the red wine has thickened to a syrup consistency. If not, increase the heat and simmer, uncovered until the liquid is syrupy.
If you have removed any pears, return them to the pan and allow to cool in the syrup.
HEMP AND COCONUT BISCUITS
Makes 20 x 25gm biscuits
1 recipe Hemp Seed and Coconut Crumble Mixture (see above)
Preheat oven to 170°C. Line 2 large oven trays with baking paper.
Combine dry ingredients in a bowl. Add butter and syrup and stir to combine. Roll mixture into compact 25gm balls, about a tablespoonful, and place on the trays. Slightly flatten the tops.
Bake for 13-15 minutes or until the biscuits are light brown. Transfer to a rack to cool completely before drizzling with Lemon Icing. Store in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
Lemon Icing
60 gm pure icing sugar, sifted
3 teaspoons lemon or lime juice
Combine the icing sugar with 2 teaspoons juice. Add extra juice a few drops at a time to achieve a drizzling consistency.