Peach crumble with maple-walnut ice cream – a simple summer dessert of tender peaches, nutty crumble and sweet, cool ice cream to top. Jump to Recipe
You know what I figured out this week? Taking photographs of food is reeaally tricky on crutches. Photographing a peach crumble with maple-walnut ice cream is even harder.
The physical impossibility of carrying plates, bowls and props to a table (only done with a helping hand from family members) and juggling everything around is compounded by the fact that humid, sticky Auckland evenings with hot dessert melt ice cream faster than I can point a camera at it. Add the unfortunate unphotogenic nature of crumble (seriously, so difficult to make it look like anything other than a bowl of mush!), and you have a real hot mess.
The resultant photos aren’t my best work – but I hope you can get the gist. Fresh summer peaches, hot and juicy and sweet, merge with a crispy, crumbly, oaty topping. A no-churn maple walnut ice cream is the finishing touch: cool, creamy and swirled with sweet, gooey maple-toffee coated walnuts and a hint of vanilla. It is the ultimate February dessert, even if it isn’t quite as good-looking as this cake. Quick question: what is the difference between a crumble and a crisp? Can anyone shed light? I’m calling this a crumble because that is what I have grown up calling them – but it could really be a crisp. I’m still on the fence.
In my head, it is the Waiheke dessert. My parents have a little (like, really little – one room) bach out on the island, a ferry ride from the city, which we visited a couple of times this summer. Although the oven is massive, taking up what seems like 3/4’s of the tiny kitchen, the rest of it isn’t exactly equipped for baking – so in stepped this crumble. I didn’t even have measuring cups or scales, so I know the recipe is very flexible – subtle differences emerged each time with my haphazard guesses, armed with a coffee cup and dessert spoon, but it always worked. Served piping hot, hands cupped around bowls topped with a melting layer of ice cream, it is unpretentious, easy, fast and just good. Really, really good.
Those were the type of days which manage to both stretch out languidly, filled with afternoons reading and the slow stupor of literally having nothing urgent to do, and fly past so quickly that we are now left wondering if they even happened at all. The lack of internet helped with the former – I quickly realised how heavily I relied on it, my phone a constant presence and the worlds of friends and strangers always only a click away. Every moment alone, a little bit bored, or spent waiting in line or for someone to hurry up or for the pasta water to boil or something to cook or to arrive – every waiting moment is spent head down, staring at a screen. Instagram usually, or pinterest. I don’t know if that is a bad thing, or just a fact, but not having it seemed to make space in the day somehow. For actually being there, rather than alone and interacting with a virtual, artificial moment. I guess those minutes here and there probably add up to hours over a week. Scary, isn’t it?
I do know that any goals or resolutions surrounding my internet use would probably be broken within a week – as soon as I had an hour spare at uni, or on public transport. But I will try to put down my phone more often, and remind myself of how I felt while writing this – seeing it less as a personal attachment and more as a tool, but not an essential. That may be much harder said than done, however!
I also wanted to say a huge thank you to everybody who noticed last week’s post. Your kind words and sentiments meant so much when I was feeling a bit down, and I really appreciated it for the smile it put on my face! This week is better, and I’m sure next week will be another improvement – but you guys are seriously the BEST.
Cook’s Notes:
- The recipe is very easy to adapt for different numbers of people or appetites: use however many peaches you want and adjust the crumble topping to suit.
- You can prepare the crumble in advance: toss the peaches early and make the crumble topping ahead, keeping both separately in the fridge. When ready to bake, top the peaches with the crumble and put straight in the oven.
- If you choose to make the maple-walnut ice cream, it is best made the day before you plan to serve the crumble. The very latest you could make it would be early in the morning on the day you are serving, but it really needs at least 8 hours in the freezer to set.
- 5-6 yellow peaches , ripe
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon vanilla essence
- juice of 1/2 lemon
- 2/3 cup flour
- 2/3 cup oats
- 1/3 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 cup white sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 125 g butter , cold and diced (6 tablespoons)
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Preheat the oven to 180°C.
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Cut the peaches into chunks (see picture) and place in an ovenproof ceramic dish, small sauce pan or similar. Add the first measurements of flour, brown sugar, cinnamon and vanilla and toss to coat.
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For the crumble topping, combine the flour, rolled oats, brown sugar, white sugar, salt and cinnamon.
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Add the butter and rub in with your fingertips until combined and you have pea sized crumbles. The butter should be well spread through out the mixture.
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Bake for 30-40 minutes or until the crumble topping is golden and crunchy.
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Serve straight away in bowls with maple walnut ice cream (recipe below) or a store-bought ice cream if short on time!
- 2 cups cream
- 1 x 400ml tin sweetened condensed milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla essence
- 1/4 cup good quality maple syrup
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1/4 cup good quality maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 2 tablespoons cream
- 1 cup chopped walnuts
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In a small pan, combine the sugar, maple syrup, butter, and 2 tablespoons cream. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Continue to boil gently for 6-7 minutes. Stir in the walnuts Remove from heat and spread the mixture evenly over a baking paper lined tray. Leave to cool completely.
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Whip the 2 cups of cream to stiff peaks. Gently stir in the sweetened condensed milk, vanilla essence and maple syrup.
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Pour 1/3 of the mixture into a loaf tin or other freezer safe container. Top with 1/3 of the walnuts, swirling over the surface. Repeat twice more with the remaining thirds of the ice cream and walnuts.
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Cover and freeze for at least 8 hours before you plan to serve.
Ahhh, the crumble/crisp dichotomy 😛 I always just thought this was a distinction that only the US makes, similar to barbecuing/grilling. Apparently they’re different things too.
And say what, these photos ARE gorgeous and totally inviting. I think we must have sent the humidity your way across the ditch cuz it’s finally cooled down a bit here! Last week was disgusting.
Hahah I agree, probably only worried about in the US! I would not have known that barbecuing and grilling were referring to different things…
Thanks so much Hannah!! I’m back in Melbourne now and it is meant to be 38°C tomorrow – too hot even for crumble so might have to stick to the ice cream part! x
Oh my goodness girl, I am SO impressed you made and photographed this on crutches! And I’m seriously drooling over this gorgeous crumble – you’re making me crave a bit of summer in this rain 🙂
Hard to believe it is so cold on the other side of the world when we are forecast to have a 38°C day tomorrow! Thanks so much Rachel <3
Mmm I love everything about this duo. I think your photos look great!! It has me longing for warm summer days <3 It's been unusually hot these past couple of days, so I think I might whip up some no churn ice cream for myself. I don't have access to peaches yet as its winter here in California, but I'm sure I can find another fruit to make a crumble with. Thanks so much for your lovely idea, deary! XO
Thanks Beeta! No churn ice cream is my current go-to, anytime – love it so much! Pear and chocolate is my other fave crumble combination – also apple/rhubarb/boysenberry. xx
Can’t believe you think that this crumble is anything but delicious looking. Beautiful styling and lovely photography. And on crutches! Well done. I hope to someday photograph and style as well as you do 🙂
thank you! so lovely to hear. and I am 100% sure you will – your photos are already so gorgeous!! Loved the carrot cake especially. xx
This is so enticing! I wouldn’t having some of this today ♥
summerdaisy.net
<3
The photography on your blog is seriously awesome – seriously cool, keep it up.
PS – hard to beat a good crumble – so simple, but so delicious!
Thank you so much, glad you like it. I feel like it has come a long way in the last year so that is awesome to hear! And YES crumble and ice cream is difficult to go past 🙂
Your photographs are amazing, with or without crutches! That crumble looks just fabulous!
Thank you!! xx
This is so gorgeous!
<3 thank you!
Wow, this is so incredibly beautiful. And KUDOS to YOU for photoging on crutches.
Aw thank you!! I had siblings as helpers.. -I think they got a bit sick of bringing me stuff hahaha!
Sounds delicious, you made me crave crumble now and I already had my dinner! I’m loving the addition of walnut ice-cream.
Thanks Anu! Perfect for dessert, haha. x
Ahhh Claudia this looks like the most summer perfect Peach Crumble! I would happily have a huge one all to myself with a mound of that ice-cream 🙂
hope you enjoyed being back home!
and your photos are gorgeous – crutches and all! hope you’re okay! 🙂
xx
Seriously you must be a very harsh critic because these are some of THE most beautiful photos I have ever seen! Seriously those peaches and that crumble and OH THAT ice cream?! Heaven on a plate my friend. Pinned!
Aw thank you so much Jessica!! Everyone is a harsher critic of themselves, right?
Hope you are having a wonderful week! x
I am bookmarking this to make very soon. I have been in such an ice cream funk lately that am getting rapidly disheartened. I have been making proper churned ice cream with egg yolks and stuff and it is still icy 🙁 I love condensed milk no-churn ice cream and that is the only one that really works, so thanks for sharing this recipe. Cant wait to try!
YES I so agree, any other way of making ice cream takes so much effort and never quite lives up to expectations. Love how you can sub in pretty much any flavours with the condensed milk version too. Thanks so much Sneh! x
You are wayyyy to hard on yourself Claudia, because these photos are just as beautiful as always and make me want to grab a big spoon (a ladle even!) and scoop that crumble right outta there! And maple walnut no churn ice cream?! That’s not even fair! Being British, we always call these crumbles rather than crisps. It was only after reading American blogs that I even came across that term, so crumble works for me!
Aw thank you so much Erika!! A ladle sounds perfect – looking back on this post, I think I need to make it again asap while peaches are still lingering here. We always call them crumbles in NZ and Australia too (must be a British colonisation thing!) so that’s what I normally go with too. Hope you are having a good week! xx
Uuuuuh, I made this last night and it was the cherry on top of Germany’s soccer win last night!
My husband had forgotten to get the sweetened condensed milk so I merged your ice cream recipe with one of Darina Allen’s and it was possibly the best dessert I have ever made. Thank you!
That is so good to hear Amelie, thank you so much! So glad you liked it, a steaming hot crumble is just the best thing right?! Glad you made the ice cream work too xx
This was awesome. I didn’t have time to make the ice-cream and I already had some vanilla ice-cream so I went ahead and made the walnut mixture and stirred it into the softened ice-cream along with some vanilla bean paste. Thanks for the recipe Its a keeper~!!!