Gluten-Free Berry Crisp

This Gluten Free Berry Crisp is the easiest dessert recipe you will find. Made with fresh or frozen strawberries, blueberries or any berries of choice, cooked into a tangy-sweet sauce and topped with easy gluten-free crumbles and brown sugar.

In this gluten-free berry crisp recipe we are going to go through how to make a berry crisp in just a few easy steps, what is the difference between a crumble and crisp, how to keep and refrigerate a berry crisp and overall the best storing tips for a baked berry crisp.

Why It's Yummy

• Fool proof - you can't fail, unless you try hard because this gluten free berry crisp bakes beautifully everytime.

• This is heavenly deliciousness.

• The easy and quick berry crumble recipe that you can whip up in minutes.

• Customizable - use your favorite fruits or berries. Apple crisp, apple blueberry crisp, you name it!

• If you're on a budget, it is your best choice for a dessert in terms of value and size.

• If you love this berry crumble recipe, be sure to check out my other similar recipes such as: Raspberry Mango Crumble, Redcurrant Crumble, Gluten Free Apple Cobbler.

• It's crispy, decadent and tastes and looks more like a berry crisp (but oats excluded) but there is a very thin line between crisps, crumbles so you can serve it as both.

Ingredients

• Mixed berries - frozen and lightly thawed are fine as you will be cooking them up for the berry sauce. This is by far the most budget friendly option. P.S. vitamins and nutrients are not lost in the freezing process! But feel free to use any forest berries, fresh or frozen that you have on hand. This gluten free crisp recipe is not limited to berries at all, fruits like apples, pears, stone-fruits (plums, peaches) and sweeter vegetables (butternut squash, pumpkin) are all great alternatives here. Try my Raspberry Mango Crumble (very addictive!) or Red Currant Crumble Bars next to know for yourself.

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• Gluten Free flour - use my Gluten Free Flour Blend or Schar gluten free flour which i really love to use in baking and is available in Europe. (Schar Mix B or Universal have worked well on multiple crumble baking recipes). In US is also available but the choices are limited, the best US alternative that my readers have reported is a Bobs Red Mill 1 to 1 all purpose flour.

• Baking powder - this is also used as an extra thickening and rising agent. I can't stress enough that for any kind of recipe to work please check your baking powder expiration date and that it is kept in a dry place and tightly sealed at all times.

• Brown sugar - I like to use Muscovado sugar in my sweet recipes rather than the regular brown sugar that is widely available in the store. Muscovado sugar is unrefined cane sugar, naturally dark sugar that has a stronger flavor due to a higher concentration of molasses left in, a ''wet sand-like texture'' that is perfect for melting or blending anything really. Regular Brown sugar is usually the same white sugar but with molasses mixed back in that creates a darker color and enhances the flavor slightly. Use muscovado sugar (light muscovado is perfect for this) in the berry sauce and crumble mix. And for a light sprinkle on top of the crumble use Demerara brown sugar for that extra crunch as it crystallizes beautifully after baking. This is an optional step but does add that extra crunch!

• Lemon juice - don't skip this. It balances of the sweet flavor of the berry sauce and gives a nice tartness to the crisp. And as always, fresh is best!

Equipment

• Whisk
• 9 inch oven safe Baking Dish
• Medium Saucepot
• Ice Cream Scoop
• Mixing Bowls
• Pie Server

Instructions

STEP 1. Preheat oven to 375 F.

STEP 2. Grease an 8 or 9 inch oven-safe baking dish with butter. Set aside.

STEP 3: THE BERRY SAUCE. Start making the sauce by combining fruits, cornstarch, lemon juice, and brown sugar in a medium saucepot. Cook on medium heat until the mixture thickens.

This will happen fast, so make sure to stir the mixture regularly.

Remove from the heat and pour into the prepared baking dish, dot with butter cubes.

STEP 4: GLUTEN FREE BERRY CRISP TOPPING. Place the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl.

Whisk well until combined.

Add butter (cut into cubes) into the flour mixture and gently stir (either with a spoon or your hands) until you have crumbs.

Slowly pour the cold cream in 2 batches and mix very gently avoiding creating big clumps as this will make the topping look more like a cobbler recipe.

Sprinkle the topping on top of the berry mixture.

STEP 5. BAKE. Transfer to the oven and bake for 25-30 minutes at 375 F until the topping is golden brown and the filling bubbly.

Sprinkle a bit of brown sugar and oats (if using) over the topping before baking. (Optional) 

Take out of the oven and let sit for 5-10 minutes and serve with a scoop or two of your favorite ice cream.

Tips

• Top the crumbly topping with demerara brown sugar and not the raw cane sugar, it will be more crispy this way.

• For ensuring your crisp stays crispy please follow the recipe instructions and use a kitchen scale to measure out the ingredients. Over-adding the butter or in reverse, using too little butter may affect the crispiness of the pie.

• Cook the berry sauce until it is thickened, usually, it happens fast but do allow a few more extra minutes and simmer on low until you get the thickened sauce. Also, when using frozen berries, thaw them for 5 minutes (that should be enough BUT will depend on your freezer temperature), use your common sense! The berries will continue to thaw in the sauce and in my opinion, this way they have the best flavor.

• You should not end up with watery filling as you have plenty of sugar and cornstarch in the sauce that both help to thicken the berry sauce. Also cooking on medium-low ensures the smoothest and result.

Serving suggestions

Divide the crumble using a pie server into desired portion sizes and serve in either a flat plate or smaller dessert bowl and top up with vanilla ice cream. 

For best flavor serve the gluten-free berry crisp warm with melting ice cream on top. Delicious every time.

Add a drizzle of caramel or other sweet sauce for an extra sweet treat.

Make ahead tips

This gluten free berry crisp is a great candidate for making ahead. It requires a few steps but is easy, I promise!

You can make the sauce and whisk the flour mix a day or two before. Keep them sealed in an airtight container, separately and refrigerated. When ready to bake, add and press the cold butter cubes into the flour mix and proceed as per the recipe.

FAQ

Easy Berry Desserts

• Berry Banana Jam (Without Pectin)
• Cranberry Orange Mini Loaves Breads (Gluten-Free)
• Almond Cranberry Tart (Gluten-Free, Vegan, Dairy-Free)
• Raspberry Mango Crumble

I hope you enjoy this easy gluten free berry crisp recipe and please do let me know how it turned out!

Thank you for reading!

- Julia

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Recipe

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