We had some visitors stay with us last weekend and it gave me a good excuse to make a dessert for their final meal with us on Sunday, before they set off back to their home. Looking around my kitchen I opted for a crumble.
I do love a crumble it is so easy to make and tastes so homely and comforting, and takes next to no time to put together. However, this was to be no ordinary crumble, oh no, for I decided to add some balsamic vinegar to the fruit inside it!
I know that strawberries work well with balsamic vinegar, not that I have ever tried this combination myself but from watching cooking shows on the TV and hearing my brother tell me that he eats them together often!! I had no idea if apples would complement balsamic but I know they work well with strawberries in a crumble, so I thought what the heck, I would give it a try!
I marinaded the fruit in some balsamic vinegar and vanilla extract first while I made my crumble, and then cooked it as I would any other crumble. I have to say it made for a scrumptious crumble and there was no over powering vinegar taste at, all just lovely gooey fruit.I also added some oats and ground almonds to my crumble topping which added to its deliciousness!
Here is how I made my Apple, Strawberry & Balsamic Crumble


- 350g strawberries, cut in half
- 3 medium eating apples, peeled and thickly sliced
- 75ml balsamic vinegar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 225g flour (I used self raising but plain would work too)
- 150g unsalted butter
- 25g caster sugar + extra handful or 2
- 25g porridge oats
- 25g ground almonds
- Place the fruit, the vanilla extract and the balsamic vinegar in a bowl, mix and leave to marinade in the fridge for at least 15 minutes (1/2 an hour would work best)
- Pre heat the oven to 180oC /160oC (fan)
- Place the flour and butter in a large bowl and rub together to make crumbs
- Add the sugar, almomds and oats and mix well
- Place the fruit in a large baking dish
- top with the crumble
- add the extra handful or 2 of sugar and scatter across the top of the crumble
- place in the oven and cook for 35-45 minutes until the crumble has browned and the fruit is bubbling
- serve hot or cold with your choice of sides, such as cream, ice cream or custard

Deeeelicious and the balsamic added a depth of flavour which I cannot really explain, but it made the fruit more gooey and richer in flavour. The sauce it made was syrupy and tasty and it is definately something I would do again. Even my OH who complains if I experiment with flavours this way, had to agree that this was a good crumble 🙂
I used some rather special balsamic vinegar in my crumble which is available from Ocado for 9.99 (the smaller bottle is a premium balsamic which retails for 49.99 due to the 25 year aging process,!)
I was sent some Due Vittorie products for the purpose of a review
This sounds so yummy! I love crumble! x
We all love a good crumble too! I have not ever tried balsamic vinegar with strawberry, I must try it but I will not tell the hubby until he has eaten it 🙂 xx #TastyTuesdays
I love a crumble and this looks incredible. Thanks for linking up to #tastytuedays
Sounds gorgeous, I love fresh strawberries with balsamic. #bakeoftheweek
Now this is how to make crumble interesting and gorgeous! Thanks for joining in with #Bakeoftheweek Roundup now open x