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Spiced Pear & Rooibos Autumn Crumble

By • Updated September 2026
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This rooibos-infused pear crumble captures everything we love about September: the first crisp evenings, windfalls from the orchard, and the urge to turn the oven on after months of summer salads. Ripe Conference pears are gently poached in a fragrant rooibos brew spiked with cinnamon, star anise and a touch of honey, then tumbled into a ceramic baking dish and blanketed with a buttery almond-and-oat crumble topping that turns golden and crisp in the oven.

The beauty of a good ceramic baking dish is how it holds and distributes gentle, even heat—crucial when you want the fruit to bubble and caramelise at the edges without scorching, and the topping to crisp without burning. Harvest-season desserts like this one thrive on slow, steady warmth, and ceramic delivers every time. Serve this after supper with cold custard or a scoop of vanilla ice cream, and watch it disappear.

Spiced Pear & Rooibos Autumn Crumble
Prep Time20 mins
Cook Time35 mins
ServingsServes 6
DifficultyEasy

Ingredients

  • 200 ml boiling water
  • 2 rooibos tea bags (or 2 tsp loose leaf)
  • 6 ripe Conference pears (about 900 g), peeled, cored and cut into thick wedges
  • 2 tbsp honey (or light brown sugar)
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • 2 star anise
  • 100 g plain flour
  • 75 g cold unsalted butter, cubed
  • 50 g jumbo rolled oats
  • 50 g flaked almonds
  • 50 g demerara sugar
Nutrition per serving:
Calories: 310
Fat: 12g
Sugar: 24g
Protein: 4g

Instructions

1
Brew: Pour the boiling water over the rooibos tea bags in a heatproof jug and steep for 5 minutes. Remove the bags, squeezing gently, then stir in the honey until dissolved.
2
Poach pears: Place the pear wedges in a medium saucepan with the brewed rooibos, cinnamon stick and star anise. Bring to a gentle simmer over medium heat, then cover and poach for 8–10 minutes until the pears are just tender but still hold their shape. Remove from the heat and let the pears cool slightly in the liquid.
3
Make crumble: Preheat your oven to 180°C (160°C fan)/Gas 4. In a large bowl, rub the cold butter into the flour with your fingertips until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Stir through the oats, flaked almonds and demerara sugar.
4
Assemble: Using a slotted spoon, transfer the poached pears into your ceramic baking dish (about 1.5-litre capacity), discarding the whole spices. Pour over about 100 ml of the poaching liquid—just enough to keep the fruit moist. Scatter the crumble topping evenly over the pears, pressing gently but leaving it textured.
5
Bake: Bake in the preheated oven for 30–35 minutes, until the topping is golden and crisp and the juices are bubbling at the edges. If the top browns too quickly, loosely cover with foil for the final 10 minutes.
6
Serve: Let the crumble rest for 5 minutes before serving warm. Perfect with cold custard, vanilla ice cream, or a drizzle of double cream. Ideal for seasonal gatherings throughout September and October.

🫖 Equipment You'll Need

A good ceramic baking dish is the unsung hero of fruit crumbles and baked puddings. Ceramic conducts and retains heat gently and evenly, so your pears soften and caramelise at the edges without scorching, while the crumble topping crisps to golden perfection. Unlike metal tins that can create hot spots, a quality ceramic dish ensures consistent browning and allows you to serve straight from oven to table with rustic style.

See our ceramic baking dish picks →

Expert Tip: Don't Overmix the Crumble

Keep your butter cold and work quickly when rubbing it into the flour. Overworking the mixture will melt the butter and create a dense, greasy topping instead of the light, craggy clusters that crisp so beautifully in the oven. Aim for pea-sized clumps with some floury bits still visible.

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