Tea Time Treats - Perfect Pudding

Tea Time Treats is a monthly challenge run by Karen from lavender and lovage and Kate from What Kate Baked.  This month's challenge is being hosted by Kate and the topic is 'Perfect Puddings'.

In our house there is one very clear winner when it comes to puddings - the crumble.  Its delicious buttery golden topping can cover a variety of flavours, and is often the way of choice for using up garden fruit.  In fact due to an unfortunate childhood encounter with a bug ridden berry, it is not easy to get Arthur to eat garden fruit.  However it is always easy to get him to eat crumble!   We like it with custard, with cream, with ice cream, with tinned milk, cold or hot the crumble is a winner.

So when challenged to make the perfect pudding crumble had to be it.  Having finally been able to get out in the garden at the weekend, the snow and frost having past, I noticed a lovely clump of young rhubarb just ripe for the picking so the flavour was chosen.

 Inspired by the scent of my favourite partylite candle I decided to add some strawberries in as well as we have a load in the freezer.

I make my crumble by look rather than a recipe, equal butter to flour and then as much pleases me of oats, demerara sugar, ground almonds, muesli, nuts or anything else that jumps out of the cupboard.  This mix was 50g butter, 50g flour, a ramekin (standard unit of measure in my kitchen) of ground almonds, a handful of jumbo oats and a handful and a half of demerara sugar.

When I'm feeling relaxed and have the time I enjoy making crumble mix by hand, rubbing butter into flour and getting the resulting mix everywhere - I'm not the tidiest of cooks!  But today I was feeling a bit rushed and the kitchen has just been cleaned so I mixed up in the blender, which I find works just as well provided your butter is really cold and you don't over do the pulse.

With the fruit chopped in the bottom of the dish, a dash of water, sprinkling of sugar, it is left for an hour or so to juice.

Then top with crumble and pop in the oven, all that's left is to enjoy the delicious smell and look forward to the taste!