Peach and Lavender End of Summer Crumble

In the heart of Griffith Park, Los Angeles has one of the best coffee shops in the city,Trails Café. Every bite and drink is fantastic, but their specialty (and my favorite order) is their signature lavender shortbread. Lavender is difficult to work with, areallygood shortbread is as well, and they managed to get the perfect quantity of lavender flowers and salt flakes that make this cookie one of the very best I have ever had. A few nights ago, I offered to make dessert for a dinner with friends; I wanted to use the last peaches I had — perfectly juicy. I wanted to use the many kumquats the tree had given me this year, and a few September plums I had in the fridge. I didn't have much time, but I had plenty of lavender, oats, flour and butter. Of course I made a crisp! One inspired by the Trails Café shortbread. Following the Breadcrumbs is a reader-supported publication. To support my work and access the archive, consider becoming a paid suscriber. This recipe, of course, can be personalized by changing the fruit, maybe even adding a few chocolate chips to the crumble (Trails, after all, also bakes an amazing lavender and chocolate chip scone). For a vegan version, use vegan butter, and keep the remaining ingredients as listed. Ingredients for 6-8 people: For the filling: 3 peaches 3 plums 6-7 kumquats 1 lemon (zest and juice) 1 mandarin (optional) 1 tsp of vanilla paste 2 tbsp of cane sugar For the crumble: 80 gr. of all-purpose flour 80 gr. of old-fashioned rolled oats 50 gr. of sugar (or 70 gr. if you like sweeter desserts) 1 1/2 tsp of culinary lavender flowers 1/4 tsp of salt flakes 1 stick of unsalted butter (+ more for greasing the baking dish) 1 tsp of vanilla paste How to make it: Rinse the fruit and cut it into bite-size pieces (I like the pieces of fruit to look the same, for an even bake) Remove the seeds from the kumquats, then chop the kumquats finely. Transfer all the fruit to a mixing bowl, add 2 tbsp of sugar, the zest of one lemon and (if you have it) the zest of a mandarin. Squeeze the juice of the mandarin (if you are using it), add 1-2 tsp of lemon juice, and 1 tsp of vanilla paste. Leave to marinate while you prepare the crumble. Grind the lavender flowers by hand, using a pestle and mortar. In another mixing bowl, add the oats, the flour, the remaining sugar, the lavender flowers, a generous pinch of salt flakes, and 1 tsp of vanilla paste. Combine all the dry ingredients, then add the cold butter cut into pieces. By hand rub the butter into the dry mix until you see clusters (chunks) of dough forming. You can also use a food processor and pulse the mix until the dough comes together in clusters. Transfer the fruit mix into a buttered 9x13 inch baking dish, then cover with the crumbs. Bake in a pre-heated over for 30-35 minutes, or until the crumble is golden brown and the filling bubbling. Allow to cool down and enjoy as is (for dessert or breakfast or snack) or with vanilla or lavender ice cream. We will make lots of crumbles during fall and winter. I am returning to food, I am returning to what I love and do best, so expect more and more recipes, ideas, cooking classes and food-related writing. Love, Alice Thanks for reading Following the Breadcrumbs! This post is public so feel free to share it. Share Come join our community, get all the recipes, the essays and the cooking class insights. Become a subscriber today. Give a gift subscription