My parents owned a pineapple farm, so when I was young the fruit was everywhere! No surprise, then, that this pineapple crumble reminds me of home.

　　Pineapple works incredibly well with cinnamon and nutmeg, and the addition of sugar and butter creates a toffee-like base that I like to round off with a splash of rum. As always, you can omit it, but I feel a few drops add a little something to this dessert. Oats and desiccated coconut (toast it while preheating your oven) add crunch to the topping, making this a great combination of flavors and textures.

　　You want to choose a ripe pineapple—it makes a massive difference. Ripe pineapple is naturally sweet and packed with flavor. When pineapple is ready, it smells aromatic, the skin turns yellow-brown, and you can pull the leaves out easily. You could, of course, use canned or frozen pineapple if that’s what’s available, but will need to adjust the sugar to taste.

　　This recipe was excerpted from 'The Thrifty Baker' by Hermine Dossou. Buy the full book on Amazon.

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What you’ll need

　　Chevron

　　Chevron

　　Cinnamon

　　$9 At Burlap and Barrel

　　Ground Ginger

　　$9 At Burlap and Barrel

　　Oats

　　$10 At Amazon

　　Shredded Sweetened Coconut

　　$6 At Target

　　

Ingredients

2¼ pounds pineapple (1 large or 2 medium-sized pineapples)

　　½ cup light brown sugar

　　1½ Tbsp. cornstarch

　　1 Tbsp. ground cinnamon

　　½ tsp. ground ginger

　　¼ tsp. ground nutmeg

　　¼ tsp. ground allspice

　　2 Tbsp. rum (optional)

　　3½ Tbsp. butter, melted, plus extra for greasing

　　Vanilla ice cream, to serve

　　

For the crumble

1⅓ cups dried, shredded coconut

　　1½ cups all-purpose flour or gluten-free flour

　　1 cup butter

　　¾ cup sugar

　　½ tsp. salt

　　½ cup rolled oats (gluten-free if desired)

　　

Step 1

Preheat your oven to 400°F and generously grease a baking dish with butter. If you like, while the oven’s heating you can briefly toast the desiccated coconut for the crumble topping on a baking tray.

　　

Step 2

Peel your pineapple, removing the eyes and core, and cut it into ⅝-inch cubes. Place in a large bowl and set aside.

　　

Step 3

In a separate bowl, combine the brown sugar, cornstarch, and spices and give them a good mix. Tip the mixture over the pineapple and mix well to combine. Add the rum, if using, and mix well. Drizzle over the melted butter and give it a final mix, then tip the mixture into the prepared baking dish, and set aside.

　　

Step 4

To make the crumble topping, in a separate bowl combine the flour, butter, sugar and salt. Rub them between your fingers to a sandy texture, then stir in the oats and desiccated coconut.

　　

Step 5

Sprinkle the crumble topping over your pineapple mixture and bake for 30 minutes or until the crumble is golden. Leave the crumble to cool at room temperature for 20 minutes before serving warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

　　Recipe excerpted from The Thrifty Baker. Text © 2023 Hermine Dossou. Photographs © 2023 Patricia Niven. © 2023 Quarto Publishing. Buy the full book from Amazon or Quarto.