Summer in Michigan is the best time of the year for fresh produce. The fresh blueberries, raspberries, sweet corn, tomatoes, peaches, and herbs! Oh the bountiful herbs! My garden is booming and so are the farmer’s markets. I’m a happy camper. Nothing…I mean NOTHING beats Michigan blueberries in the summer. The flavor is so sweet and tart that I find myself eating them by the handful. The flavor is a world different than blueberries from the grocery store in the winter. So I have been trying to use them as much as possible in my cooking.
Now I’m not a baker. Let me repeat myself. I loathe baking. You end up with a shit ton of dishes, the precision of measuring makes me crazy, it generally seems to take a lot of time. To all those who love and are good at baking, I applaud you. Truly, I WISH I enjoyed baking. Sometimes if I’m really wanting to impress my husband, I’ll bake a cookie skillet or pumpkin muffins in the fall. But considering we’ve been together for over four years now, these moments are less frequent (sorry honey!).
When I do make an attempt at baking, it’s usually a pretty easy recipe or some type of a deconstructed baking process that’s less difficult. Which leads me to this berry, peach, lavender crumble. It’s a baking recipe I created for all those in favor of making baking as easy as possible, in addition to anyone who’s as in love with local, fresh produce as I am. I’m always inclined in the summer to step out of my comfort zone with new herbs or flavors that inspire me. I’ve had wild lavender growing in the field of my backyard for quite some time now. I’ve awed at it for years from my back patio and that’s where its ended. I never really knew just what to do with it.
This year I’ve committed myself to harvesting it and using it in my cooking. Since I’ve begun this quest, I’ve found that if used in the right amount, lavender can add a wonderfully subtle floral hint to a recipe, whether that be sweet or savory and trust me, it can definitely be used in both types of flavor profiles.
Now let’s make one thing clear here before moving on. The lavender I have growing is wild lavender, therefore not treated with pesticides. If you want to use lavender in your cooking, you’ll need to grow it wild, find a local lavender farm, or order culinary lavender online. With that being said, this recipe is still delicious if you decide to omit the lavender.
Some of the ingredients in this recipe can easily be substituted for other items that you may have in your pantry instead (i.e. regular sugar instead of coconut palm sugar or regular all-purpose flour instead of gluten-free all-purpose baking flour). I try to keep my ingredients as plant-based as possible, which is why I sometimes explore other types of sweeteners or flours. In addition, my husband is quite allergy-prone so I have to be careful with my ingredients. However, this is not to say that using regular all-purpose flour or sugar are any more/less healthy than the ingredients I use (that’s a conversation for another day ;).
Here is what I do know about this recipe, it’s very doable for beginners in the kitchen (or fellow non-bakers like myself). Plus, it provides some serious health benefits. The blueberries and peaches pack an antioxidant-punch like no other and provide a great source of potassium, beta-carotene, vitamin C, and fiber. Not to mention, they’re in-season and just plain delicious.
I used a 9-inch cast iron skillet, but you could also use individual muffin tins or soufflé ramekins. The sweetness of this dessert will remind you of why you love everything Michigan summer but the spice blend will leave you craving fall. It’s a perfect end of August, almost September recipe.
Serve warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream (I used So Delicious coconut milk vanilla bean) and extra lavender for garnish. This crumble also reheats nicely for a mid-afternoon snack 😉
Peach, Blueberry & Lavender Crumble
Ingredients
Peach-Berry Mixture
- 3 peaches, cubed
- 2 cups blueberries
- 1 tbsp fresh lavender
- 1/4 cup all-purpose gluten-free baking powder
- 2 tbsp organic coconut palm sugar
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/8 tsp cloves
- 1/8 tsp cardamom
- 1 tbsp organic agave nectar
Crumble
- 3/4 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
- 1/4 cup pecans, roughly chopped
- 1/8 tsp sea salt
- 2 tbsp all-purpose gluten-free baking powder
- 1 1/2 tsp organic agave nectar
- 1 tbsp refined coconut oil, melted
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray the cast iron with cooking spray. Cube the peaches and set aside.
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Add the flour, sugar, cinnamon, cloves, and cardamom to a medium mixing bowl and stir to evenly combine. Add the blueberries, peaches, and agave nectar to the bowl. Stir until all the fruit is coated. Spread the fruit mixture evenly across the bottom of the cast iron.
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In a separate smaller bowl, combine the oats, pecans, salt, flour, agave nectar, and coconut oil. Spread the crumble over top of the fruit mixture.
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Bake for 55 minutes to an hour until the crumble is golden brown. Serve with ice cream.
Recipe Notes
- For the coconut palm sugar, I used Wholesome organic palm sugar.
- For the flour, I used Bob's Red Mill gluten-free all-purpose baking flour.
Enjoy!
-EAB