Gluten Free: Pear Crumble Slices

I wouldn't say my family are predictable, but there are some guaranteed phrases that come up around the dinner table. Whenever we eat a certain pink-fleshed fish, my dad will sing 'Salmon-chanted evening'; during that appreciative quiet moment when everyone is digging in to their meal, my Uncle Roy will say, 'silence reigned and we all got wet' and anytime he eats crumble, my husband will announce that he'd happily eat a bowlful of crumble topping. 

While there's nothing I can do about my dad's proclivity to sing about fish, I was sure I could help my husband achieve his crumble ambitions. Now crumble isn't just reserved for pudding, we've been eating it with a cuppa too!

Pear Crumble Slices (makes about 15 slices)
You'll need:

• 250g gluten free plain flour mix
• 150g butter, cut into small cubes
• 100g demerara sugar
• 1 egg
• 2 pears, peeled, cored and sliced (tinned pears work well, too)
• 30g crystallised ginger, roughly chopped
• 50g gluten free porridge oats (optional)

Make it!

1. Preheat your oven to 180°C/350°F/gas mark 4
2. Rub the flour mix and butter together with your fingertips until it resembles breadcrumbs (you can pulse it in the food processor for the same result.)
3. Add the sugar and mix well.
4. Remove about 200g of the mixture and reserve it for later.
5. Add the egg to the rest of the mixture and combine well (it's easier to use your hands to do this).
6. Press the dough evenly into a 20cm x 20cm tin and top with the pears and ginger.
7. If using, mix the oats into the remaining crumble mix and sprinkle over the top of the pears.
8. Bake for 1 hour, until the top is golden brown.
9. Leave to cool in the tin before slicing.