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.
