Strawberry and Pear Crumbles

 Spring has sprung, and all those hearty warm recipes are going to the back of the "must make" pile. There's nothing quite like having a hot oven on in a house that has been at 30C all day, taking that temperature gauge up another notch. Some of you may know, I hail from a much cooler climate than the sub-tropical one I now reside in, and although I love a warm summer's day, I'd be happy if the temperature never exceeded 27C.
And humidity can go jump too. Ever heard the expression, "sweating like a pig"? Hm, then you know what I'm talking about.
So before it really heats up, I'm squeezing in the last of the puddings, crumbles and all those warm comfort foods that are so good on a chilly night. I love baked desserts, so I'm combining the first of the spring berries with the last of the winter goodies with this pear and strawberry crumble that serves two.
Imagine layers of pears and strawberries topped with strawberry cream and buttery, cinnamoned crumble with the crunch of toasted muesli. Doesn't get much better than when its drizzled with a splash of cream or a ball of melting vanilla ice cream.

STRAWBERRY AND PEAR CRUMBLES

1 ripe pear
150g fresh strawberries
1/2 cup cream
1 tbsp butter, softened
1/4 cup plain flour
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup toasted muesli 
1/2 tsp cinnamon

preheat the oven to 180C.
Peel, core and slice the pear thinly. Take 50g of the strawberries and hull, then slice thinly also.
Layer the two fruits into two ramekins, pears on the bottom, then strawberries, then pears, and so forth until all the fruit is evenly divided between the dishes.
Take the remaining 100g of strawberries and hull, then place in a food processor with the cream. Blitz for 20 seconds. Pour this mixture over the top of the layered pears and strawberries, evenly  between the two ramekins.
In a medium bowl, place butter, flour, sugar, muesli and cinnamon. Combine using your fingers until a crumbly dough forms. Divide the mixture between the two ramekins, covering the cream.
Cook for 30 minutes, remove from oven and set aside for 10 minutes before serving with vanilla ice cream or cream, if desired.

Serves 2