Kitchen Flair: Blackberry Coconut Almond Crumble

This is my friend Jessica and her friend Emily. These ladies know how it flair up in the kitchen!!!  Jessica and I met at KU through Luke and have been friends ever since I moved to back to KC after art school.  She is a Nurse Practitioner and knows how to cook and bake with sense of health and flair.  She and her friend Emily are some very talented Epicurians.  I am excited I get to share their gifts with you here every month as my monthly recipe contributor(s).

 Several years back I met a friend of a friend’s girlfriend.  Today I am lucky to call Emily one of my closest friends.  She is one of my favorite people to travel with, whether we’re drinking signature cocktails in San Francisco or downing biscuits at the international biscuit festival in Knoxville, TN.  This past week there would be no traveling as much of Kansas City lay under a thick blanket of snow.  Emily and I decided to spend the snow day watching movies and taking a few walks about midtown.  That afternoon, hot toddies in hand we entered the kitchen to “bake something”.  Here is what we came up with…

Blackberry Coconut Almond Crumble

1.5 cups flour

1 tsp salt

4 Tbl butter

2 Tbl honey

4 cups blackberries (ours were frozen)

2 Tbl lemon juice

1 Tbl lime juice

1 Tbl sugar

¼ cup sliced almonds

¼ cup coconut

1 Tsp cinnamon

¼ tsp cardamom

1/8 tsp allspice

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Use cooking spray to spray the bottom and sides of your pan, we used a 9 inch circular pan that was handy, but a rectangular pan would work as well.

Mix flour, salt, butter, and honey together with a pastry cutter to form your crumble.  Form into a ball by hand and set aside.

Mix the rest of the ingredients together and place into your pan.  Place an even layer of crumble on top.

Bake for 45 minutes or until the crumble is a golden brown.

Let your crumble rest for 15 minutes before serving.

I like this desert because it’s not too sweet and not too tart, and it allows the flavor of the berries to shine through.  Although we used what ingredients were in the kitchen at the time, feel free to substitute with whatever fruit you have handy depending on the season; apples, mixed berries, peaches, etc.