This recipe is a great way to celebrate the changing of the seasons. Just as we are saying goodbye to the stone fruit of summer, the spiced crumble topping heralds the beginning of autumn.
The crumble can be made in a square, deep baking dish (approx 20x20cm), or if you are hosting a dinner party or want to be a little bit more fancy, you can bake it in individual deep ramekins. Don’t skimp on the flaked almonds, they add a nutty crunch to the topping that is so good, I think I’ll add them to every future crumble topping! Serve it with creme fraiche or ice cream, or if you were going for that fancy feel above, a spoonful of clotted cream or mascarpone. One last tip: try a spoonful of leftover crumble with plain yoghurt for breakfast.
I don’t need too much encouragement to make a crumble, it’s my favourite comfort pudding, but I hope you too get a chance to make this one before the plums disappear.
Ingredients:
4 granny smith apples
4 plums
25g sugar (ideally caster sugar but it doesn’t matter)
tablespoon of water
1 cup flour (any kind)
1/2 cup rolled oats
1 tsp allspice
100g sugar (ideally brown sugar but again it doesn’t matter)
125g cold butter, diced
20g flaked almonds
Method:
Dice the apples and add to a baking dish with the caster sugar and water. Shake the dish to mix. Dice the plums and set aside. Set the oven to 200 degrees and put the apples in to soften for about ten minutes as the oven warms.
Add the flour, oats, brown sugar and allspice to a bowl and mix. Add the butter and rub together with the flour with your fingertips until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Fold in the almonds.
Mix the plums into the baked apples and then top with the crumble mixture. Bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes.
Enjoy!