Spiced Pear Crisp

An American-style pear crisp with cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg baked over sliced pears. The topping bakes into a sandy, crisp layer while the fruit softens into a syrupy base. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream so the contrast between hot fruit and cold cream stays clear.

By Julienne

Cook time: 40 minutes

Servings: 6

Ingredients

• 5 ml Neutral oil or nonstick baking spray for greasing the baking dish
• 900 g Pears peeled, cored, and sliced 1 cm thick
• 15 ml Lemon juice fresh or bottled
• 20 g Granulated sugar divided
• 8 g Cornstarch for thickening the fruit
• 2 g Ground cinnamon divided
• 1 g Ground ginger divided
• 0.25 g Ground nutmeg divided
• 1 g Fine salt divided
• 80 g Old-fashioned oats for the topping
• 70 g All-purpose flour for the topping
• 70 g Packed light brown sugar for the topping
• 30 g Granulated sugar divided
• 2 g Ground cinnamon divided
• 0.25 g Ground nutmeg divided
• 2 g Fine salt divided
• 5 ml Vanilla extract for the topping
• 60 g Unsalted butter cold, cut into cubes
• 360 g Vanilla ice cream for serving

Instructions

1. Heat the oven to 190 C. Grease the 8-inch square baking dish with 5 ml neutral oil or a light coat of nonstick baking spray. In the large bowl, combine the pears, lemon juice, 20 g of the granulated sugar, cornstarch, 2 g of the cinnamon, all of the ginger, 0.25 g of the nutmeg, and 1 g of the salt. Toss until the pear slices are evenly coated, then spread them in the baking dish. The pears should look lightly glossy and the dish should be evenly filled with fruit.
2. In the medium bowl, mix the oats, flour, brown sugar, remaining 30 g granulated sugar, remaining 2 g cinnamon, remaining 0.25 g nutmeg, remaining 2 g salt, and vanilla extract. Add the cold butter cubes and rub or cut them in until the mixture forms coarse crumbs with some pea-size pieces. The topping should hold together when squeezed but still look crumbly.
3. Scatter the topping evenly over the pears. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until the fruit is bubbling at the edges and the topping is deep golden brown. If the top browns too quickly, loosely cover it with foil for the last 10 minutes. The filling should bubble visibly around the edges and the topping should sound crisp when tapped.
4. Let the crisp rest for 10 to 15 minutes so the juices thicken slightly. Serve warm in 6 bowls with 60 g vanilla ice cream each. The fruit should spoon cleanly and the ice cream should begin to soften on contact.