1) How did you get your filling to be so pretty and pink? especially after peeling? 2) The crumble felt really buttery and hard to crumble, almos...

Kuala is still posting, and with a couple of contest winners and dozens of community picks, I assure you, she is the real deal, one of only a handful of Food52'ers that I "follow." Hopefully, she'll spot your question, but if not, don't hesitate to send her a persoal message. She's been very nice and helpful when I've communicated with her.

I guess the recipe writer has not seen your question maybe they aren't posting after 3 years. 1) my guess is that she used other fruit in addition or alone, maybe plum or berries, the notes say you can make it with other fruit. 2) to me the top does look a bit like a crumble-cobbler hybrid. I don't know why it didn't crumble for you, it looks like a lot of butter. Maybe your egg yolks are larger than hers and overwhelmed the amount of flour, plus you cut the sugar. Maybe your butter got too soft then when you chilled it just seized together. It is funny that the prior comments don't mention it, but those comments are strange, just a bunch of people saying great with no detail--hardly seems credible. Strangely, all the people who commented signed up the same day or day after the author and never posted any recipe.

Anyway, how did it turn out?