We’re only one month into Autumn and the temperatures have already taken a serious dive this week with two cold snaps in the space of two days. The heat pumps have been turned on, woolly hats and puffer jackets pulled out for dog walks (…ok that’s just me), and I’m going through a box of herbal tea a day!

This kind of weather calls for warm nourishing food so with a fruit bowl full of pears and feijoa’s the obvious thing to do was turn them into a warm fruit crumble.

This crumble’s had a Swoon Food makeover, it’s entirely grain and dairy free, made with cashews, almonds and coconut flakes, and is sweetened with just a small amount of rice syrup. If you’re avoiding sweeteners altogether then by all means leave it out as there’s enough sweet spice in the mixture to make the crumble topping work.

For those who haven’t come across a feijoa (also known as pineapple guava or guavasteen), it has a smooth green skin and is about the size of a kiwi fruit. It’s insides are creamy coloured and similar in texture to a pear but with jelly bits. They have a unique  fragrant flavour which has been described as a cross between a pineapple and guava.

Feijoa’s are also a great source of dietary fibre, packed with vitamin C, and very low in calories. If you can’t get your hands on any feijoas for this recipe, you can substitute for berries or simply add more pear.

Best of all this recipe only takes 15 minutes to put together (10 if you’re fast with a vegetable peeler), and another 30 to bake. So if after dinner you suddenly decide you want dessert, this is your recipe! Enjoy.

Feijoa and Pear Crumbles

Serves: 4
Prep time: 10 minutes Bake time: 30 minutes

2 pears
4 feijoas
1/3 cup almonds
1/3 cup cashews
1/4 cup sunflower seeds
1/2 cup coconut flakes
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ginger
pinch pink Himalayan salt
1 Tbsp rice syrup
1 Tbsp coconut oil, melted

Preheat the oven to 160ºC fan bake and place four oven-proof ramekins on an oven tray.

To make the crumble topping put the almonds, cashews, sunflower seeds, coconut flakes, cinnamon, ginger and salt into a food processor and pulse until you have a chunky mixture. Add the rice syrup and coconut oil and pulse until just combined. You want it to remain quite chunky.

Peel the pears, cut in half to remove the cores then chop into bite sized pieces. Spread between the four ramekins. Next cut the feijoa’s in half, scoop out the flesh and divide between the ramekins.

Divide the nut crumble between the four ramekins then place them in the centre of the oven to bake for 30 minutes.

The crumbles are ready when the topping has turned a golden brown and you can hear the fruit beneath bubbling. Remove from the oven and place on a wire rack to cool a little before serving. These are perfect with a dollop of your favourite coconut yoghurt or nice cream.

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