TWD: Peach Melba-Hazelnut Double Crisp

I'm back, TWDers! I have just emerged from what I like to call the Cupcake Season. Both of my wee ones have birthdays within two weeks of one another, and between home birthday cakes, cupcakes for school, and cupcakes for Daisy Scouts, I was all baked out.

What better way to jump back in after a few weeks' absence than with a Strawberry and Rhubarb Double Crisp? Sarah of Teapots and Cakestands picked this fantastic tribute-to-spring recipe, but I had to go and substitute everything. Rhubarb is simply not to be had in my neck the woods, and if I couldn't have rhubarb, I didn't want strawberries (I think they need one another in a crisp). I did, however, have some fresh raspberries and frozen peaches. Next to the frozen peaches were the rest of my chopped hazelnuts. Fortunately, I had just stocked up on crystallized ginger. Don't you love it when a plan comes together?

And so I present Peach Melba-Hazelnut Double Crisp. I have to tell you that I was most excited about the "double crisp" element of this recipe. Fruit is wonderful and all, but crunchy, oaty topping is what makes a crisp for me. You press half your oat-nut-brown sugar-ginger-butter concoction into the bottom of the pan, add cooked and cornstarch-thickened fruit, and then sprinkle the rest of the topping over the fruit. After an hour in the oven, you have a homely-looking but delicious-tasting crisp. Really, there's no way to take an attractive picture of a piece of crisp, so please enjoy looking at my trusty Pyrex panful.

Thank you, Sarah - crisps are among my favorite desserts, and I can't wait to try this one again with ripe summer fruit - or perhaps some rhubarb, when it finally makes its appearance. I may never make a "single" crisp again.

Next week: Jeanette of The Whimsical Cupcake chose A Tourtely Apple Tart

Last week: Coffee Ice Cream Tart