Smulpaj

Ingredients

• 1¾ lbpearspeeled, cored, cut into chunks or wedges
• 2¾ ozdark chocolateroughly chopped, mixed with the pears
• 4¼ ozflourfor the crumble
• 2½ ozbuttercold and cubed or melted, for the crumble
• 1¾ ozsugarfor the crumble
• 1⅓ ozbrown sugarfor the crumble or the pears
• 2¾ ozrolled oatsinto the crumble
• 2¾ ozwalnutsroughly chopped, in the crumble or filling (optional)
• 1⅓ ozalmondsground or chopped, into the crumble (optional)
• ½ tspcinnamonwith the pears or crumble (optional)
• 1 pinchsaltinto the crumble
• ½ cupcream(optional)
• 1 tspvanillaor vanilla extract, for filling or sauce (optional)
• 2 tsplemon juiceover the pears (optional)

Method

1. Preheat the ovenPreheat the oven to about 355 °F.
2. Prepare the pearsPeel and core the pears and cut them into chunks or wedges. Drizzle them with lemon juice if you like.
3. Mix pears and chocolateRoughly chop the dark chocolate. Toss the pears and chocolate in a baking dish with a little of the brown sugar and, if you like, the cinnamon.
4. Rub together the crumbleFor the crumble, rub the plain flour, butter, sugar and a pinch of salt between your fingertips into coarse crumbs. If you use melted butter, a fork does the job.
5. Add oats and nutsStir in the rolled oats and the rest of the brown sugar, along with chopped walnuts and ground or chopped almonds if using.
6. Top the pears with crumbleScatter the crumble evenly over the pears.
7. Bake until goldenBake the smulpaj for 30 to 45 minutes, until the top is golden brown and the fruit is bubbling at the edges.
8. Serve warmLet it cool briefly, then serve warm with vanilla ice cream or vanilla sauce.

Tips and variations

Another version presses half the crumble into the dish as a base, piles the pears on top and covers them with the rest; the chocolate goes on only for the last 10 minutes of baking, so it melts over the top instead of into the fruit. A vanilla sauce made from egg yolks, sugar and cream goes well with it. For a butter-free crumble, use tahini, maple syrup, oats and almonds, and give the pears cream and vanilla sugar instead. Gluten-free flour works in place of plain flour, hazelnuts can stand in for the walnuts, and the pears can be coated with warmed chocolate hazelnut spread. Serve it lukewarm, while the chocolate is still soft and the ice cream melts slowly.