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Strawberry crumble

This classic English dessert is given a French twist by Raymond Blanc - cooking the crumble topping separately from the filling makes a lighter finished dish. Serves 4
Equipment and preparation: You will need 4 x 8cm/3in gratin dishes.

For the crumble topping
80g/3oz plain flour
50g/2oz caster sugar
1½ tbsp brown sugar
55g/2oz cold unsalted butter, roughly chopped
For the filling
2 tbsp water
2 tbsp caster sugar
2 tbsp unsalted butter
480g/1lb 1oz strawberries, halved, sprinkled with 2 tbsp sugar in bowl and left for at least an hour
4 tsp kirsch (optional)
1 tsp lemon juice

For the topping, put all the topping ingredients into a food processor and pulse to blend them all together.

Bring the mixture together with your hands to form a dough and press evenly onto a baking tray and then freeze for one hour.

Preheat the oven to 190C/375F/Gas 5.

Remove the crumble from the freezer, break into pieces and place in a food processor. Pulse until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs.

Spread the mixture evenly onto a baking tray to a thickness of about 5mm/½in.

Bake in the oven for seven minutes until golden-brown, then cut four discs with a 8cm/3in pastry cutter and return to the oven for three minutes. This method ensures the gluten in the flour is cooked, giving a lighter, more digestible topping.

Place the water and two tablespoons of sugar in a 26cm/10in saucepan over a medium heat and cook until it becomes a very pale blonde caramel.

Add the butter to stop the caramel cooking, then stir in the strawberries, kirsch (if using) and lemon juice. Cook for 30 seconds to warm the fruit through then remove from the heat.

Divide the strawberries between the four 8cm/3in gratin dishes and top with the crumble discs. Serve with vanilla ice cream or crème fraîche.

Tip

Sprinkling the strawberries with sugar draws the juices out of the fruit and heighten its flavour. You can make this with any other seasonal fruits – apples, pears, apricots, plums etc. Adapt the cooking time of the fruit accordingly; you want the fruit to be soft but still holding its shape. The crumble toppings can be made one day in advance and stored in an airtight container.