I never know what to do with my red currants and I’m pretty sure I’m not the only one. My mom would say “make cordial” or “make jam or jelly!” as if there were no other options. My mom’s red currant jelly is on the other hand one of the things I remember most about my childhood. How it was my favorite and how I could eat it straight from the jar. A few weeks ago I visited her and brought pie and she gave me a glass of her red currant cordial (which you can see here). The color was mesmerizing.
I decided to use my red currants in a pie. Pie, jam and cordial are my favorite things to make when I have huge quantities of fruits and berries. I made it gluten free, just because. I also made one with blueberries. It doesn’t look like it in the pictures but there was vanilla ice cream involved as well. Lots of it.
I made red currant muffins last year, but they’re still a favorite so I decided to post them too.
Gluten free red currant crumble
Recipe adapted from The minimalist baker
Notes on this recipe:
-I also made this recipe with blueberries and noticed a difference in sweetness (as blueberries aren’t quite as tart as currants). If you think this pie is too tart with red currants, serve with powdered sugar and vanilla ice cream or sweetened whipped cream. I used about 1 tsp ground cardamom in the blueberry version of this recipe.
-You can of course use a mix of berries or fruit in this recipe instead of red currants
Crumble
1 1/4 cups (150 g) gluten free rolled oats
1/2 cup (70 g) almond flour
1/4 cup + 2 tbsp (75 g) packed light muscovado sugar (or light brown sugar)
1/4 cup (30 g) sliced almonds
1/4 tsp sea salt flakes
1/4 tsp vanilla powder
100 g (1 scant stick) cold butter
400 g red currants (about 2 1/2 cups destemmed berries)
2 tbsp lemon juice
zest from 1/2 lemon
1/4 cup + 2 tbsp (75 g) raw turbinado sugar
2 tbsp cornstarch
Preheat oven to 175°C (350°F).
Mix all crumble ingredients in a bowl with your hands until butter is evenly distributed.
In another bowl, toss red currants with juice, zest, sugar and cornstarch. Pour berries into a large pie pan or baking dish, then add the crumble on top. Bake for 40-50 minutes or until filling is bubbling and top is golden.
Red currant poppy seed muffins with lemon
Makes 12
100 g butter
1/3 cup + 1 1/2 tbsp (100 ml) milk
zest from 1 lemon
2 medium eggs
1/2 cup + 2 tbsp (135 g) sugar
1 1/4 cups (180 g) all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
Pinch of salt
1 tbsp poppy seeds
3/4 cup (125 g) red currants
Preheat oven to 200°C (390F) and line a muffin pan with 12 muffin liners. Melt the butter and add milk and lemon zest. Beat eggs and sugar until light and fluffy, then add butter mixture. Mix flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl and mix with wet ingredients. Add poppy seeds.
Spoon batter and currants into liners until 2/3 full. Bake for approximately 15 minutes.
What a beautiful post! And a gluten free pie, mmm… 🙂
This is so gorgeous! The currants really make the cupcakes pop.
I love redcurrant muffins. I also like to have redcurrants on a cheese board, not that cheese often makes it to a cheese board in my house (it's gone before I can get it on there!).
You definitely aren't the only one wondering what to do with all those red and black currants! Cordial and jam are both fantastic but I'm always on the lookout for more ways to use them. Last winter, I made baked ryemeal with blackcurrants (recipe on my blog) and it was delicious. However, I still have some red currants from last year in my freezer (yes, shame on me!) and I now know how to use them up (I'm sure this crumble will work with frozen berries as well). Thank you for this inspiring, summery post, Linda!
eeee!!! so cute!!!!!!!
Oh my! I am making that crumble immediately!
YAY! I just bought a TON of currants and now I know what to make with it. Soo delish! Ps. love that little sift at the bottom in the last shot. XO
I wish we had access to red currants or any currants for that matter, here in Florida. Enjoy it on my behalf. This looks amazingly delicious!
your crumble and the muffins look wonderful! I´m not a big fan of plain red currants , but in cakes & muffins & crumbles, they are absolutely delicious! I made a cake with buttermilk and olive oil recently in which they came out beautifully…
those are some seriously good looking cupcakes, i am SO craving one right now. love both the recipes and your beautiful photography. thanks for sharing!
This looks like the most perfect crumble ever, and the photos are just fabulous. Those muffins look awesome too. I wish I could find red currants in California!!
beautiful! those muffins look amazing.
Wow, two beautiful recipes. I love the gorgeous muffins – and your photography is amazing!!
Red currant.. I love them but I didn't have them for at least 5 years..
Currants are so pretty, what beautiful recipes!
Hej Linda,
Hvor har du købt den fantastiske bageform, som du brugte her: http://call-me-cupcake.blogspot.com.au/2014/07/peach-bundt-cake-with-lemon-glaze-and.html#more
? 🙂 Og hvor ser det godt ud!
Hey Linda, I have followed your blog for quite some time now. Your recipes are so nice and the photography is truly amazing 😉 Thanks for sharing!
/Johanna
So excited. Nobody ever cooks with currants.
Oh my golly! Those have to be the most sumptuous and divine recipes I've found so far today. I can almost taste the red currant just by looking at the pictures. I'm definitely going to try that recipe out for myself and I hope I can follow it to the letter. Amazing photography skills, by the way. Thank you so much for sharing such an amazing dish. Wishing you all the best!
Alexis Webb @ 7 West Bistro
i had started baking when I realized I had no milk. But used yoghurt instead, and a little water to avoid it getting too dense. nice result, but also perhaps a bit too acidic – so I balanced it by making a sugar icing. 🙂