Plum Crumble.....necessity is the mother of invention!



The other day I went to the market and I allowed my excitement to get the better of me when I came across a box of amazing a delicious plums. On an impulse I bought the entire box, and it was not small! Now plums are a great fruit, full of strong antioxidant properties which makes them a super-fruit. This means that they offer a high level of defense against free radicals. They are also a source of both iron and potassium and also contain vitamin E. And the fibre contained in them makes them very good for your gut. They are currently in season, giving you a great excuse to indulge in this amazing fruit.

The minute I got home with my great find I realized that there weren't enough mouths to finish the box before the plums got spoiled. So I decided to make a plum crumble to deal with my little dilemma. 

Now this is one of the simplest and most satisfying comfort food desserts you can make. It's not fussy, does not require a lot of ingredients but the results are amazing. A great English classic! The best way to serve it is with cream or plain vanilla ice cream in the summer months or with warm vanilla custard in the winter. Now it's not the best looking dessert in the world but the taste sure makes up for the look of it. It is heaven in every bite.

Now when I made my crumble I did not have crushed nuts to add to my crumble mixture for texture, so I substituted them with toasted muesli. Now it must be the type of muesli that has no fruit in it and just has toasted oats and nuts. The Nuttzy Crunch is the best variety to use for the substitute. 

Prep Time: 30 min
Baking Time: 1hour to 1hour 15min
Oven Temp: 180 degree C

INGREDIENTS
For the filling
  • 12-15 large ripe plums, stones removed & quartered
  • the juice of ½ a lemon
  • 160g muscovado sugar
  • 50g butter cut into pieces
  • 5ml ground cinnamon
For the crumble
  • 175g self-raising flour
  • 100g muscovado sugar
  • 100g butter, chilled, cut into cubes
  • 100g crushed cashew nuts or toasted oats
  • Cream/Ice Cream/Custard to serve
The rest of the process is fairly easy. In a large heatproof dish mix the plums, lemon juice, muscovado sugar, butter and cinnamon. 

I a separate bowl rub, with your hands, the self raising flour, muscovado sugar and butter until you get a crumbly texture. Add the crushed nuts or oats and mix thoroughly. Pile this mixture on top of the plum mixture. Bake in the pre-heated over for 1hour to 1hour 15minutes or until you can see the plum sauce bubbling over the crumble.

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