Cream and strawberry crumble, the easy and irresistible dessert, perfect to serve even at Easter, a delicious alternative to the classic tart, although in taste it is practically identical, it’s just easier to make. Yes, because the shortcrust used for the crumble is actually not a shortcrust pastry, although it has all the ingredients of a shortcrust, eggs, butter, flour, and sugar, but it is not worked much to compact it into a dough, as the word crumble implies, it is left in crumbs, and the crumbs will form the base, which during cooking unifies, like a classic tart base, and on the surface, as a closure, more or less perfect, depending on taste, we use lots of crumbs on the filling that become golden and crunchy in the oven, and they can be made even more enjoyable with the addition of sliced almonds, which I didn’t have, otherwise I would have added them.
- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Economical
- Preparation time: 15 Minutes
- Portions: 8
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Spring
Ingredients for Cream and Strawberry Crumble
- 3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- to taste lemon zest
- to taste vanilla
- 2 medium eggs
- 2 cups milk
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1 medium egg
- 1/3 cup potato starch
- to taste vanilla
- lemon zest
- 10 1/2 oz strawberries
- tsp baking soda
- 2 tbsps sugar
- 1/2 lemon juice
- 1 tbsp wheat starch (potato starch)
Tools for Making Cream and Strawberry Crumble
- 2 Bowls
- 1 Baking pan
- 1 Small bowl
- 1 Knife
- 3 Paper towels
- 1 Spoon
- 1 Plastic wrap
Steps to Prepare Cream and Strawberry Crumble
Let’s start by making the custard, which needs to be cold before use, so we prepare it first and let it cool in a large bowl to cool quickly.
In a saucepan, combine sugar and potato starch, which can be replaced with cornstarch or even flour. I prefer potato starch because it leaves the cream smoother.
Add a whole egg to the dry ingredients, or 2 if you want the cream more yellow, or use 4 yolks if you don’t want to use whole eggs. Just so you know, I only used 1. Stir with a silicone spatula to achieve a smooth cream without lumps. I added some granular natural vanilla with the powders, as I thought it useful to put it in the cream right away, so it would dissolve well during cooking, but you can also use a vanilla bean as I did here for the custard with bean, or gel extract to be used at the end of cooking.
Gradually add milk, which can be used hot or cold, and bring to a boil, always stirring over medium heat. To make the cream even more flavorful, add some lemon zest, only the yellow part, as the white part turns bitter. As soon as the cream thickens, pour it into a wide and shallow bowl, cover with plastic wrap touching the surface, and let cool.
Let’s also prepare the strawberries. Place them in a bowl with water and baking soda for thorough cleaning to remove some of the pesticides used in cultivation. Dry them on paper towels, then chop them finely in a bowl, season with lemon juice and a little sugar, adding wheat starch to make them less watery.
Prepare the crumble shortcrust in a large bowl. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, lemon zest, and vanilla in the bowl, then add butter cut into pieces and start working to get a crumbly texture. Finally, add the eggs and work until you obtain many crumbs.
To prepare the crumble, I used a silicone mold for tart 10-11 inches, which doesn’t need greasing and flouring. In case of a traditional mold, grease and flour it.
Pour more than half of the crumbs into the pan and press to create a homogeneous base, including the edges. Fill the base with the cooled cream. Then add the strawberries, distributing them evenly. Cover with the remaining dough, with lots of crumbs that close the filling, leaving some strawberries visible here and there.
Bake in a preheated static oven at 350°F for about 40-45 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool before removing from the mold, using trays to avoid breaking it. You can sprinkle it with powdered sugar before serving if you like.
The cream and strawberry crumble can be stored in the fridge for up to 3 days.
