Cobblers, Slumps, Grunts and Crumbles

These are simple fruit desserts, with a topping, served straight from the oven. Cobblers are made in a deep dish filled with fruit and topped with dough. The dough is shaped into overlapping circles or squares and, when baked and brown, the topping looks similar to cobblestones. Fruit such as plums, apples and mixed berries are typically used. Slumps and grunts are similar to cobblers, but some versions are cooked on the stovetop. The fruit supposedly ‘grunts’ as it cooks. A crumble, or crisp, is a dessert of cooked fruit topped with a crumbly mixture of butter, flour and sugar. The crumble is baked in the oven until the topping is crisp and golden. Sometimes nuts and oats are added to the crumble mixture, or the crumble may be made using biscuit crumbs, muesli or breadcrumbs. Apples, rhubarb and blueberries are popular fruit used in crumbles.