Turkish delights

Spiced fruit baklava crumble

SERVES 8

INGREDIENTS

For the pistachio crumble

200g plain flour

½ tsp baking powder

50g rolled jumbo oats

60g pistachios

¼ tsp ground cinnamon

150g cold unsalted butter, cut into 2cm cubes

50g soft dark brown sugar

For the orange blossom syrup

300ml cold water

100g caster sugar

2 tbsp runny honey (or agave syrup)

1 tsp orange blossom water

Juice of ½ large orange

½ cinnamon stick

3 cloves

For the topping

400g ripe peaches/plums, or a combination of both, stoned and cut into 1cm thick slices

½ tsp ground cinnamon

Zest of 1 large orange, finely grated

Juice of ½ large orange

1 tsp demerara sugar

25g pistachios, ground in a food processor, plus extra to finish

METHOD

■ Preheat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan/gas mark 6. Line a 23cm diameter, round pie dish with parchment paper. Add all of the pistachio crumble ingredients to a food processor and pulse slowly until the butter starts to form large crumbs, but hasn’t been ground down to a powder.

■ Pour the crumble mixture into the lined pie dish and press it down using your hands so that the top is completely flat. Bake in the oven on the middle rack for 15 minutes. While the crumble base is baking, add all of the orange blossom syrup ingredients to a small saucepan and place on the hob over a medium-high heat.

■ Once it starts to boil, leave it on a high simmer for around 10-15 minutes until the mixture has thickened and reduced by half, then turn off the heat.

■ While the crumble is baking in the oven and the syrup is reducing on the hob, mix together the fruit slices, ground cinnamon, orange zest and orange juice in a bowl.

■ After the crumble has been baking for 15 minutes, take it out of the oven, and scrape the flattened top a little with a fork so that the topping starts to resemble a crumble. Pop the crumble back in the oven on the middle rack for another 5 minutes until the top starts to look a little crunchier.

■ Carefully take the dish out again, arrange the fruit slices on top of the crumble, and scrape out any of the juicy residue left in the bowl on to the fruit. Using a spoon, evenly pour the syrup over the fruit and crumble.

■ Sprinkle over the demerara sugar and pop the dish back on to the middle rack of the oven. Bake for another 20-25 minutes, or unti