Fuyu Persimmon Crumble

For a fun twist on a fall inspired crumble, try using persimmons instead of apples or pears. Here I used fuyu persimmons (see photo above), which are the ones that look like tomatoes and can be sliced and eaten like an apple (Hachiya persimmons are more tear-drop shaped and need to be super soft before using. The flesh typically gets scooped out and pureed.).

I call this a crumble rather than a crisp because the topping is softer as supposed to crunchy or crispy. For something more along the “crisp” lines and a bit heavier on the oats, try my Cran-Apple Persimmon Crisp, which also happens to be vegan.

As with a lot of crumble and crisp recipes, I find that using a denser whole wheat or spelt flour in place of all purpose is often fine, does not affect texture that much, and still tastes great. I just decided to use all purpose flour this time. 1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans added to the topping would also be nice.

Also for texture reasons, you could peel the persimmons before slicing. I chose to keep the peels mostly out of laziness but also because of the extra fiber and to reduce food waste.

Looking for more fuyu persimmon recipe ideas? Try these Oven-Dried Persimmon Rounds that I made for VeryWell or this Fuyu Persimmon Spice Cake that I made for the Savor Health Blog.

Want a more savory persimmon recipe idea? This Fuyu Persimmon and Mozzarella Appetizer that I created for Savor Health should fit the bill. Or, just peel and slice persimmons and stir into a salad.

Fuyu Persimmon Crumble

8 – 10 servings 

recipe adapted from the Tillamook website (I cut back slightly on the sugars and used my own mix of spices instead of pumpkin pie spice. If you have pumpkin pie spice, feel free to use 1 teaspoon instead of the spices listed in the filling section.)

Ingredients

Topping: 

1 cup all purpose flour

1/2 cup rolled oats

1/3 cup brown sugar

2 tablespoons white granulated or cane sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

pinch kosher salt

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, cold and cut into small cubes

Filling:

6 fuyu persimmons

1/2 lemon, juiced

2 tablespoons white granulated or cane sugar

1 tablespoon all purpose flour

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon fresh ground nutmeg

1/8 teaspoon ground allspice

1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

 Directions 

Make the topping: In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, oats, sugars, cinnamon and salt. Add the butter and work it into the dough with your finger tips until the butter and dry mixture have come together into “crumb like” pieces, some the size of peas and some bigger hunks. Set aside in the refrigerator while you prepare the filling.

*Topping can be made up to 5 days ahead of time and stored in the refrigerator or even longer in the freezer until ready to assemble and bake the tart.

Make the filling: Cut the tops off the persimmons, peel them (optional, I kept the peel on), halve them, core them, and thinly slice. Place sliced persimmons in a large bowl and add remaining ingredients and stir until evenly distributed.

Dump into a pie pan. Sprinkle the topping over the fruit.

Bake for about 1 hour, or until the topping is browning and the filling is bubbling.

Let cool slightly and serve.