Spiced Pear and Blackberry Crumble

Spiced pear and blackberry crumble is a popular fall and winter dessert, and it's not hard to see why. The juicy pears and blackberries pair beautifully with the mix of winter spices, and are topped with crunchy buttery crumble.

A beautiful, cozy dessert that's so easy to make!

We love a good crumble dessert in various fruit combinations like this blackberry pear crumble, apple and blueberry crumble, apple crumble, or even apple pie with crumble topping. This spiced pears and blackberry crumble is perfect for the fall and winter season, served warm with a generous scoop of ice cream!

I love baking with pears as well as blackberries and have only just realised that the only other pear dessert I have shared here is my pear and chocolate cake (Which is so good), and the only other blackberry recipe is my gluten free blackberry muffins. So watch this space as I will definitely be adding more pear and blackberry recipes.

Recipe Development

I wanted to make a crumble that was a real winter warmer. Spiced pears and blackberries just seemed like the natural choice as the winter pears work weIl with the tartness of the blackberries.

I adapted this from my apple and blueberry crumble recipe, which I make on repeat in apple season for my family.

I used ripe pears and have tested this recipe using both fresh and frozen blackberries and it works out great using either. The frozen fruit releases more liquid but with the cornstarch, this was not a problem, and more juice makes more flavor right!

To really take the flavor to the next level and make it a proper cozy winter dessert, I added ground cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger for warmth and seasonal depth.

📋 Ingredients Notes

• Flour - I used gluten free plain flour from Doves Freee from range.
• Butter - Use cold butter straight from the refrigerator. I use unsalted butter and add the salt in separately. If you only have salted butter omit the additional salt.
• Pears - Use ripe pears cored, peeled, and sliced.
• Blackberries - I have tested this recipe using fresh or frozen berries, both work well, but the Frozen blackberries may add a little extra liquid to the filling.
• Lemon juice - adds balance to the flavor and also slows the oxidation in the pears.
• Sugar - I used light brown sugar. I love the richer flavor that it adds to both the crumble and filling. White sugar will also work well in this recipe if you don't have brown sugar available.
• Gluten free Oats - I love the extra crisp that the oats give to the crumble. If you can't tolerate oats, you can skip this part of the recipe to make a pear and blackberry crisp without oats.
• Cornstarch - Helps thicken the juices from the fruit. Cornstarch is known as cornflour in the UK
• Spices - I used ground cinnamon, ground nutmeg, and ground ginger to complement and add flavor, which pair nicely with the pears and blackberries.

See the recipe card below for ingredient measurements.

⚡ Substitutions & Variations

🥣 Step by Step Instructions

Below is a brief step-by-step process with photos of how to make Pear and Blackberry Crumble.

See the recipe card below for more detailed recipe instructions.

Step 1: In a large bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, ground cinnamon, salt, and xanthan gum.

Step 2: Add cold butter to the flour mix and rub together until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.

Tip: Keep the butter cold and don't overwork. Stop when you have a breadcrumb-like mixture with some larger lumps.

Step 3: Mix in the oats until evenly combined, then place the mixture in the fridge to chill while you prepare the filling.

Step 4: Place your sliced pears and blackberries in a bowl.

Add the sugar, lemon juice, cornstarch, ground cinnamon, ground ginger, and ground nutmeg into the bowl with the sliced pears and blackberries and mix until all the pear slices and blackberries are coated evenly.

Tip: Don't skip the cornstarch, as the pears and blueberries will release a lot of juice, and the cornstarch will thicken this slightly.

Step 5: Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas mark 4

Evenly spread the pears and blackberries in the baking dish.

Step 6: Remove the crumble mixture from the fridge and spoon the crumble mixture on top of the fruit evenly.

Carefully place the pie dish in the center of the oven for approx 35-40 minutes until the crumble is golden brown.

You will know when the crumble is ready when using a knife, it slides easily through the pears, and you can see the juices bubbling at the sides of the dish. 

Tip: If the topping browns too fast, loosely cover the dish with some foil.