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Hi Bold Bakers!
WHY YOU’LL LOVE THIS RECIPE: This Pear & Dark Chocolate Crumble will become one of your favorite desserts, one you’ll crave again and again.
- Irresistible Flavor Combination: The sweet, juicy pears paired with rich, bittersweet chocolate chunks create a mouthwatering balance that’s both comforting and decadent.
- Crumble Chocolate Topping: A unique chocolate crumble topping adds a delightful crunch and bursts of chocolatey goodness in every bite.
- Easy to Make: With simple ingredients and straightforward instructions, this recipe is perfect for both seasoned bakers and kitchen novices.
- Versatile: While pears shine in this recipe, you can easily swap them for apples or other fruits for a delicious twist.
No lie — this Pear & Dark Chocolate Crumble is probably one of my top three desserts in the world. Ever. Pears aren’t even my favorite, but this homemade crumble completely blew me away!
Bold Bakers Love This!
“I’m have never been a huge pear fan and this is hands down one of my all time favorite desserts. That will tell you how good it is.” –Gemma Stafford
“I was hesitant to make this, as pear and chocolate don’t sound super yummy to me. I went for it, because for Gemma to say its in her top three is kind of a big deal. OHMYGOODNESS stop everything you are doing and go make this right now!! This is far, far better than anything I could have ever imagined or even begin to describe. It is absolutely delicious!” –Shannon
“Thanks for this amazing recipe, Gemma. I tried it for a Diwali party yesterday and got great compliments. I honestly didnt know that pears could taste so good alongside this yummy chocolatey crisp. ” –Franchelle
IMPORTANT NOTE: This recipe was improved and updated on 9/19/2024, to include a NEW STEP-BY-STEP tutorial video, explanations and substitutions of key ingredients, make-ahead and storage instructions, answers to the most frequently asked questions, and Pro Chef Tips.
Table of Contents
- What is a Pear and Chocolate Crumble?
- Tools You Need
- Key Ingredients and Substitutes
- How to Make a Pear Chocolate Crumble
- Gemma’s Pro Chef Tips
- Make Ahead and Storage Instructions
- What Types of Pears are Best for Making Pear Chocolate Crumble?
- What’s the Difference Between Crisp, Crumble, and Cobbler?
- FAQs
- More Crumble Recipes
What Is a Pear Chocolate Crumble?
A Pear Chocolate Crumble is a delectable dessert that combines ripe pears with a chocolatey topping that’s rich even without eggs. It’s a delightful twist on the classic crumble, offering:
- Juicy Fruit Base: Fresh, ripe pears that soften during baking, creating a sweet and tender fruit layer.
- Chocolatey Crunch: A topping made with cocoa powder and bittersweet chocolate chunks, adding a crispy on the outside & crumbly on the inside and indulgent texture.
- Simple Preparation: Easy-to-follow steps and common ingredients make it a straightforward recipe for any baker.
- Versatile Flavor: While pears are the star, the recipe can be adapted with other fruits, making it a versatile choice for various tastes.
Tools You Need
- Mixing bowls
- Measuring spoons
- Measuring cups
- 9-inch baking dish
- Knife
- Rubber spatula or wooden spoon
Key Ingredients and Substitutes
Pear Filling
- Ripe pears: Bartlett or D’Anjou pears provide the base of the dessert, offering natural flavor and a juicy texture when baked.
- Cornstarch: Acts as a thickening agent, helping to gel the fruit juices and create a thicker, more cohesive filling.
- Lemon juice: Adds a touch of acidity to balance the sweetness and enhance the flavors of the pears.
Chocolate Crumble Topping
- All-purpose flour: Forms the structure of the crumble topping, creating a base that holds together and crumble up when baked.
- Dark brown Sugar: Adds sweetness with stronger caramel notes and helps create a caramelized, crunchy texture in the topping.
- Dutch Process Cocoa Powder:
- Provides a rich, smooth chocolate flavor and dark color to the topping.
- Substitutes: All-natural cocoa powder or cacao powder is less processed so may make this recipe too bitter.
- Salt: Enhances the overall flavors by balancing the sweetness and bringing out the chocolate’s depth.
- Butter:
- Adds moisture and richness, and helps bind the dry ingredients together for a crumbly, crispy texture.
- Substitute: You can also use cold, solidified coconut oil but it will yield a different result.
- Bittersweet Chocolate: Introduces bursts of chocolate flavor and texture within the topping, complementing the sweetness of the pears.
How to Make a Pear Chocolate Crumble
For the Chocolate Crumble Topping
1. Mix dry ingredients: In a large bowl add the flour, brown sugar, cocoa powder and salt and lightly stir together.
2. Add fat: Add the cold butter and using your fingers (or a dough cutter) rub in the butter into the dry ingredients until the mix resembles coarse breadcrumbs. You can also use a food processor for this step.
3. Add chocolate: Mix in chopped chocolate. Set aside in the fridge until ready to bake.
For the Pear Filling
4. Prep: Preheat the oven to 350ºF (180ºC). Set aside a 9-inch baking dish. You want a wide and shallow dish for this recipe as there is lots of crumble topping.
5. Prepare pears: Peel, core, and chop the pears into chunks. (It’s very important you use ripe pears so they will soften while baking.)
6. In a medium bowl mix the pears together with the cornstarch and lemon juice. Pour the filling into the baking dish.
7. Top with the chocolate mixture distributing evenly. It will look like it’s too much but it’s fine. It will bake down.
7. Top with the chocolate mixture distributing evenly. It will look like it’s too much but it’s fine. It will bake down.
Bake the chocolate crumble
8. Bake for roughly 45 to 50 minutes or until the pears are soft and the topping is baked.
Gemma’s Pro Chef Tips For Making Chocolate Pear Crumble
- You can make the topping for up to 3 days in advance, or you can freeze it for up to 2 weeks.
- If pears aren’t your favorite, apples work really great in this recipe as well.
- Be sure to use a wide, shallow baking dish so you get a lot of crumble topping spread evenly.
- Use Dutch process cocoa powder for a smooth, intense chocolate flavor. Do NOT use hot chocolate powder.
- Bittersweet chocolate is the best for this recipe, as it really balances the sweetness of the pears. Sprinkle some semi-sweet chocolate chips or bittersweet chocolate chips on top for extra richness.
- Use a gluten-free flour blend or our Easy Almond Flour Mix for a gluten-free option. But note that almond flour may not get so crispy and will like get burned more easily.
- Make your own brown sugar!
Make Ahead and Storage Tips
Make-Ahead:
- Topping Preparation: You can prepare the chocolate topping up to 3 days in advance. Store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator until ready to use.
- Freezing: For longer storage, freeze the topping for up to 2 weeks. Place it in a freezer-safe container or zip-top bag. Thaw in the refrigerator before using.
Storage:
- Refrigeration: Store any leftover Pear Chocolate Crumble in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
- Reheating: To enjoy leftovers, reheat the crumble in a preheated oven at 350°F (180°C) for about 10-15 minutes until warmed through.
Note: For best texture, reheat in the oven rather than the microwave to maintain the crispiness of the topping.
What Types of Pears are Best for Making Pear Chocolate Crumble?
Bartlett and d’Anjou pears are ideal for their sweetness and texture.
- Bartlett pears break down great when you bake them and have a lot of delicious flavor.
- D’Anjou pears are super juicy when they are ripe.
Whatever pears you pick up will work well in this recipe, however. But you do want to make sure they are ripe!
What’s the Difference Between Crisp, Crumble, and Cobbler?
Crisp, crumble, and cobbler are all fruit desserts, but they differ in their toppings:
-
Crisp:
- Crisp is similar to a crumble, but often includes oats adding a crunchy texture.
- Characteristics: The topping usually combines butter, sugar, flour, and oats for extra crunch.
-
Crumble:
- Crumble has a sweet fruit base topped with a crumbly mixture of butter, sugar, and flour.
- Characteristics: The topping is typically more buttery and crumbly, often with a slightly coarse texture.
-
Cobbler:
- Cobbler has a fruit filling covered by a biscuit-like or cake-like batter that bakes into a golden crust.
- Characteristics: The topping resembles a cake or biscuit, creating a more substantial, sometimes fluffy, crust.
FAQs
-
How do I prevent the topping from becoming too soggy?
- Use a wide, shallow baking dish to ensure even baking and maintain the crisp texture.
-
What can I add to the topping?
- You can enhance the flavor and texture by adding tree nuts such as walnuts, pecans, almonds, hazelnuts, peanuts, or macadamia nuts.
- Dried fruits such as cranberries pair well with chocolate.
- After baking before serving, you can customize it with crushed chocolate crunch bars, mounds of chocolate crisps, quinoa rice puffs, or a drizzle of maple syrup.
-
Can I use other fruits instead of pears?
- Yes, apples, cherries, or peaches can be substituted.
Make More Crumble Recipes
And don’t forget to buy my Bigger Bolder Baking Cookbook!
Full (and printable) recipe below!
IMPORTANT NOTE: This recipe was improved and updated on 9/19/2024, to include a NEW STEP-BY-STEP tutorial video, explanations and substitutions of key ingredients, make-ahead and storage instructions, answers to the most frequently asked questions, and Pro Chef Tips.
Try These Recipes!
Watch The Recipe Video!
Unbelievable Pear & Dark Chocolate Crumble
Make the Pear & Dark Chocolate Crumble, with juicy pears, rich chocolate, and a crispy topping. Easy but with incredible taste and texture!
Servings: 8 people
Make the Pear & Dark Chocolate Crumble, with juicy pears, rich chocolate, and a crispy topping. Easy but with incredible taste and texture!
Servings: 8 people
Ingredients
Pear Filling
- 7-8 ripe pears (Bartlett or D'Anjou)
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
Chocolate Crumble Topping
- 1 cup (5 oz/142 g) all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup (4 ½ oz/128 g) dark brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons Dutch process cocoa powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup (6 oz/170 g) butter, cold and cubed
- ½ cup (3 oz/85 g) bittersweet chocolate, chopped
Instructions
For the Chocolate Crumble Topping
- In a large bowl add the flour, brown sugar, cocoa powder and salt and lightly mix together.
- Add the cold butter and using your fingers (or a dough cutter) rub in the butter into the dry ingredients until the mix resembles coarse breadcrumbs. You can also use a food processor for this step.
- Mix in chopped chocolate. Set aside in the fridge until ready to bake your crumble.
For the Pear Filling
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF (180ºC). Set aside a 9-inch baking dish. You want a wide and shallow dish for this recipe as there are lots of crumble toppings.
- Peel, core, and chop the pears into chunks. (It's very important you use ripe pears so they will soften while baking.)
- In a bowl mix the pears together with the cornstarch and lemon juice. Pour filling into the baking dish.
- Top with the chocolate crumble mixture distributing evenly. It will look like it's too much but it's fine. It will bake down.
- Bake for roughly 45 to 50 minutes or until the pears are soft and the topping is baked.
- Serve warm with vanilla ice cream. Any leftovers can be stored in the fridge for up to 4 days.
Recipe Notes
- You can make the topping for up to 3 days in advance, or you can freeze it for up to 2 weeks.
- If pears aren’t your favorite, apples work really great in this recipe as well.
- Be sure to use a wide, shallow baking dish so you get a lot of crumble topping spread evenly.
- Use Dutch process cocoa powder for a smooth, intense chocolate flavor. Do NOT use hot chocolate powder.
- Bittersweet chocolate is the best for this recipe, as it really balances the sweetness of the pears. Sprinkle some semi-sweet chocolate chips or bittersweet chocolate chips on top for extra richness.
- Use a gluten-free flour blend or our Easy Almond Flour Mix for a gluten-free option. But note that almond flour may not get so crispy and will like get burned more easily.
- Make your own brown sugar!
Hi Gemma! I made this recipe last week and absolutely loved it.. I made it with apples since I didnt have pears and it was still amazing.. Thank you for the recipe!
– Kiana
Hi
I want to make this but in individual ramekins. how long should I bake them for?
Would love to have a rough idea of how many either cups or pounds of pears to use, as our pears end up only portions being good to use (the chickens get the rest), so I’m just going to wing it. ????
Does canned pears work?
Is there a video of the recipe?
Fabulous, amazing, absinthe delicious!
Hi Gemma : I am not a huge fan of pears mostly because in Rwanda where I spend 10 to 11 months a year when they can be found they are insanely INSANELY expensive so I made this recipe to day with Rasberries and Blackberries and then also made a pitcher of warm birds custard to go with . My Rwandan collegues could not stop saying biraryoshye cynae meaning its VERY delicious . Thanks for the ways you have helped me introduce family and friends to really good Muzungu ( non Rwandan ) food to go along with really Yummy… Read more »
I was hesitant to make this, as pear and chocolate don’t sound super yummy to me. I went for it, because for Gemma to say its in her top three is kind of a big deal. OHMYGOODNESS stop everything you are doing and go make this right now!! This is far, far better than anything I could have ever imagined or even begin to describe. It is absolutely delicious!
Hi Gemma,
Can I use canned pineapple instead of pairs?
Hi Gemma! Me and my sister love to watch your videos and love seeing baby Georgie at the end of your videos. We are gluten and sometimes grain free. We really would love to make this recipe since we just bought some pears from the market the other day. How could we make this grain or gluten free? Thanks so much!