Mulberry Crumble Cup

A mulberry crumble cup is a simple dessert to celebrate an interesting, yet not so well known berry the mulberry.  Mulberry’s are not popularly known, however, interestingly they do grow in Nigeria in the middle belt with it cooler climes and higher elevation such as Plateau State. It was exciting to discover this last year and thankfully I was able to purchase a few kilos from a local farmer recently.

Mulberries are the sweet, hanging fruits from a genus of deciduous trees, one that happens to grow in a variety of temperate regions around the world. Their likely origin is China, but they have spread throughout the world and are highly regarded for their unique flavor and composition of nutrients and benefits. They are also closely related to figs and breadfruit. Their list of health benefits are many including being full of antioxidants, a great source of fiber, higher in vitamin C than oranges and high in protein, iron, calcium.  Their flavour notes are mild and sweet similar in taste to goji berries and figs.

I’ll be using mulberries to make a number of recipes, but let’s start with an all time favourite in a different format – the crumble. Crumbles are great in all varieties and are pretty simple to pull together for a quick dessert. The crumble topping  in this recipe can be made separate and sprinkled on a number of different fruit, dairy free cream, ice cream,  yogurt combinations. Below is a quick mango crumble cup recipe. The crumble, mulberry compote and vanilla cashew cream are all prepared separately and combined to provide a burst of sweet, floral flavours and a bit of crunch.  Enjoy!

Print Recipe

Mulberry Crumble Cups

Serves: 4 Prep Time: 30 mins Cooking Time: 30 Mins 30 Mins Nutrition facts: 200 calories 20 grams fat

Ingredients

Crumble

1 cup Gluten Free Oats

½ cup almonds

6 tbs date paste

3 tbs coconut oil

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp ginger, ground

½ tsp almond extract

½ tsp nutmeg

¼ tsp salt

pinch cloves

 

Vanilla Cream

1 cup cashews, soaked

¼ cup liquid sweetener of choice

½ tsp vanilla

Pinch of salt

water as needed

 

Mulberry Compote

1 cup of mulberries

2 tbs orange juice

2 tbs cane sugar

Pinch of salt

Instructions

Crumble

• Pre-heat the oven to 170C
• Put all the ingredients in a bowl and mix together until a crumbly texture is formed
• Spread mixture on a lined baking sheet and bake in the oven at 170C for 30 mins, texture should be dry and crumbly but not over dry

Vanilla Cream

• Place all the ingredients into a high speed blender and blend. Add water only as needed until a smooth creamy consistency is reached. The cream should be thick.
• Remove and place in the fridge to chill before plating

Mulberry Compote

• Wash and strain the mulberries. I spent a few extra minutes removing their tiny stems, but this was for aesthetics. They are totally edible
• Place the mulberries, orange juice, cane sugar and salt in a small pan and bring to medium heat
• Once bubbling, reduce to medium low heat and muddle the fruit with a wooden spoon. Continue cooking for 8 to 10 minutes.
• Remove from heat and store in the refrigerator.

Plating

• Layer the crumble, mulberry compote, and vanilla cream into cups and serve

Notes

Ovens are different so check the crumble every 5 mins from 20 mins onwards