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Feijoa, Lime & Coconut Crisp

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Everyone loves a warm hearty pudding, and crumble is a simple yet wonderful way to use up whatever fruit is in season. Often when I this for dessert, the kids decide to reheat any leftovers the next morning for breakfast, and being such a nourishing and satisfying dish, I have decided that this is completely justified and in fact to be encouraged! 

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Even though feijoas ripen as the days begin to cool, being from the guava family their floral sweetness pairs extremely well with tropical flavours, especially zingy limes.

Conveniently, limes come into season just as the feijoa glut can begin to get overwhelming, and here I have used them to add a bit of tang. A generous amount of thread coconut in the topping gives a slightly chewy texture while complimenting the tropical theme, and sliced almonds add crunch. I use scotch oats here for a crisper topping. Scotch oats are just rolled oats that have been finely milled into flakes - feel free to replace them with traditional rolled oats if you like. 

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The beauty of this recipe is that it can easily be made refined sugar free, and/or vegan. Simply replace the brown sugar with coconut sugar for a sugar free version and use coconut oil instead of butter to enjoy as a vegan dessert.  

 

Serves 4 - 6 

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Ingredients 

For the filling 

• Approximately 800 grams feijoas / 4 cups once cubed (see note in method section below) 

• Juice from 1 small lime (if you are using larger juicy late season limes, just use the juice from half a lime in the filling, and the juice and zest from the other half in the topping, as too much lime could overwhelm the dessert) 

• 2 tablespoons maple syrup or runny honey 

• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon 

 

For the topping 

• ¾ cup scotch oats 

• ¾ cup thread coconut 

• ¼ packed cup brown sugar 

• ¼ cup sliced almonds 

• Zest and juice from 1 small lime (see note above in the filling section) 

• 50 grams butter or extra virgin coconut oil, melted 

 

Method 

1. Preheat oven to 180C 

2. Begin making the crisp by skinning and cubing the feijoas. Note - instead of cutting the feijoas in half and scooping out the inside, for this recipe I like to remove the skins with a sharp knife, so that I can use as much flesh as possible and then cut it easily into small cubes. I remove the skins by cutting the ends off the feijoas, sitting them flat on a chopping board, and then carefully slicing in a downward motion, ensuring I am only taking a thin amount of skin off each one.  

3. Once skinned, cut the feijoas into small cubes by slicing them lengthways into 3 or 4 pieces, then cutting each slice into strips, before finally cutting across the strips to make small cubes approximately half a centimetre wide. You should end up with about 4 cups of cubed fruit. 

4. Place into a bowl and add the first measure of lime juice, maple syrup or honey and cinnamon. Mix well and tip into a medium sized ceramic dish or similar. 

5. Using the same bowl that the feijoas were in, mix the oats, coconut, and brown sugar together, removing any lumps from the sugar. Add the sliced almonds, lime juice and zest, and melted butter or coconut oil. Mix and sprinkle evenly over the feijoas. 

6. Place into a preheated oven and bake for 40 minutes or until the feijoas are cooked and bubbling up through the topping and it is crisp and nicely coloured. 

7. Let cool for 5 to 10 minutes before serving.  

8. I like to serve this with cream and milk, but a good vanilla ice cream is lovely too, and if having for breakfast unsweetened Greek yoghurt would be my choice. 

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