No matter the kitchen or tools available, this deliciously easy fruit filling will turn it out, time and again. You can use this recipe in pies, crumbles, cobblers, tarts, or in the buff with a little ice cream on top. Tweaked ever so slightly, the ratio works with darn near any fruit you want to try, and I’ve found especially good results in combining two, three, or even six different types of fruits in one go!
All that’s to say, it travels. I’ve made this in hostels, an Albanian apartment where we had to connect the oven to the gas line, and multiple friends’ kitchens with little notice, and it’s always my first choice for any type of seat-of-the-pants baking.

When on the road, I usually use a shortcut pie crust that can go bottom, top, or crumbled throughout depending on pan options, and I look around at the markets and groceries for whatever fruit is in season where I’m at. When in doubt (or winter), apples can be found almost everywhere any time of the year, and since I stole this recipe from my mom’s apple pie, you know they will shine.

Everywhere Fruit Filling

Adapted from a family recipe
Ingredients
- 4 cups any berry-sized fruit OR 4 medium to large apple-sized fruits
- 2 TBSP all-purpose flour OR 1.5 TBSP nut-based flour
- 1/2 cup white, brown, or cane sugar
- 1-2 tsp cinnamon (or local available dessert spice)
- (optional) 1 squeeze lemon for apples and pears
Directions
- Prepare your fruit by either washing berries and setting aside a few minutes to drain well or cutting your apples or pears into cubes a little less than 1 inch squared. Place fruit in medium-sized bowl, and for apples and pears, squeeze in a little lemon and give a couple of little stirs.
- Add in sugar, flour, and cinnamon and stir to coat. Your fruit should look a little gloopy, like glue; add 1 TBSP of flour at a time if runny.
- Voila! Now just add to your dessert carrier of choice. In a pie, crumble, cobbler, or tart, you will generally want to bake harder fruits at 375°F to 400°F for 45 minutes to an hour, and softer fruits will bake between 350°F and 375°F for about 40 minutes. With no shell, bake at the lower end of those scales for 30 minutes.

Tried it? Let us know how it went!
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