Plum Crumble with Cinnamon-Nutmeg Crème Fraîche
Tuesday, September 27, 2011 at 9:41 PM
Baking with plums is new territory for me. I love plums, but in my book they are for snacking not for baking. However, I read this post on House to Haus last week and thought that perhaps I was being shortsighted. It was time to try a plum dessert.
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I am thrilled to report that the experiment was a huge success. Rob referred to the plum crumble tonight as "plum crack". It is THAT good. I'm not sure I can give the plums full credit - the topping is crunchy and sweet and perfectly complements the plums - but certainly the tart plums help to really set this crumble apart. I've actually made this twice (in the past week). The first tart was made with plums from the grocery store. The second tart was made with plums from my friend Doug's plum tree, which he let me raid while we were over for a barbecue on Saturday. With the number of plums I picked, I could make 10 crumbles but I'll try to resist my gluttonous urges and do something healthier with the remaining plums. You, however, should find some plums and make this crumble!
My crumbles, like my pies, err on the side of more fruit. I prefer a high fruit to crumble ratio, so keep that in mind if you make this. The original recipe called for 12 plums; I used 16 when I made it with grocery store plums and about 20 when I used plums from Doug's tree (they were a bit smaller than the store-bought plums). The original recipe also calls for candied ginger. I love ginger in many forms, but I just don't like candied ginger, so I omitted it. Check out the original recipe here if you like it and want to include it - I am sure it is delicious! That said, without the candied ginger, this was divine. If you are convinced that you won't like baked plums, make this with whatever fruit you do like. The topping is perfection.
I always like a little dollop of something on my baked fruit desserts. If you have vanilla ice cream or whipped cream, either would be a nice compliment. If you want to make something special, I'd recommend homemade crème fraîche with a little taste of fall (see below for what I added). The dominant flavor is still the tanginess of the crème fraîche, but the cinnamon and nutmeg complement the crumble well.
Plum Crumble
Adapted from the NY Times
Total time: 50 minutes
Yield: 6 to 8 servings
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1½ tablespoons plus 1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
¼ plus ½ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground ginger
16-20 purple Italian or prune plums, cut in half and pitted
¾ cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
1 well beaten egg
½ cup unsalted butter, melted
1. Heat oven to 375 degrees, with rack in center.
2. Thoroughly mix brown sugar, 1½ tablespoons flour, ¼ teaspoon cinnamon and ground ginger. Add to plums and mix well. Arrange, skin side up, in ungreased, deep 9-inch pie plate.
3. Combine remaining sugar, baking powder, flour, cinnamon and salt. Mix well. Stir in egg. Then, using hands, mix thoroughly to produce little particles. Sprinkle over plums.
4. Slowly drizzle butter evenly over crumb mixture. The butter has a tendency to roll down the topping and over the rim of the pie dish, so do this step carefully. Bake the crumble for 30 to 35 minutes. The crumble is done when top is browned and plums yield easily when pricked with cake tester. Remove from oven and cool.
5. Serve warm or refrigerate for up to two days or freeze well covered. If reheating, bring to room temperature then warm at 300 degrees. If desired, serve with ice cream, whipped cream or the cinnamon-nutmeg crème fraîche.
Cinnamon-Nutmeg Crème Fraîche
1 cup of crème fraîche (so easy to make at home using this recipe)
1 tsp freshly-ground nutmeg
1 tsp cinnamon
Combine the spices with the crème fraîche and adjust to your liking!
Baked Goods, Dessert, Farmer's Market, Pies & Crumbles in In the Kitchen
Reader Comments (8)
"plum crack" - best husband comment ever! Love it! Zach said the cake was his favorite thing I've made EVER, as in forever and ever. But it sounds like 'plum crack' might just beat out plum cake. Very super jealous of your friend with a plum tree and love the photo of you nestled in the tree. It almost looks like it was taken with a night vision camera - did you go back and raid the tree in the middle of the night? Crack can lead you to do crazy things...
The only thing missing from your post is a pic of Brooke eating "her" plums. I'll have to try your recipe, it sounds delicious!
Amy, you should make this for Doug! And you are totally right - I should have included a picture of Brooke.
I want this immediately. It looks so stinking good. Do you think apples would work?
Ali, I do think apples would work although I'd cover the topping since it will likely have to bake longer than the plums. The topping is delicious... What isn't with 1/2 cup of butter?
Thank you Darcy! It looks so delectable. I can't stop thinking about it.
I made this the other week for a dinner party with some of the last plums from our farmer's market and it was amazing. I admit, I did not take the time to make the topping and so there was definitely a little something missing, but by the end of the evening, all the crumble was gone, so I guess it was a hit. It also spawned a new word: PLUMBLE. That's right. Plumble.
mmmm...Plumble.