Fresh Plum Crumble

If I were to ask you to name your favorite fresh summer fruit, my guess is that a plum would be far from the top of the list. Truly, the plum is unappreciated, and I can't for the life of me figure out why. Sweet, juicy, with a tasty and nutritious skin (not to mention the antioxidants), plums make a great snack. When turned into jam, chutney, coffeecake, or dessert, they are downright delicious. If you've never made a summer dessert out of plums before, now is the time.

This recipe is from Taste of Home magazine. I adapted it from the original that called for 7 medium plums. I have no idea what a medium plum is. There are regular plums and baby plums. Is one considered large and the other small, in which case, what is a medium?  No matter, I selected two packages of organic plums from Melissa's Produce and that worked out just right.

Everyone who has tried this crumble absolutely loves it. I included a large piece when I made a dinner drop at my dad's and he deemed it outstanding. I agree. It is easy to assemble, requires no special equipment, and I give you permission to pop a couple of plum pieces into your mouth while baking. Serve this warm or at room temperature, with ice cream or without.  You'll be wishing you'd bought double the amount of plums once you taste this delicious summer dessert.

It's plum season!  Celebrate!

Fresh Plum Crumble

1 pkg. Melissa's Organic Plumcots, pitted and quartered

1 pkg. Melissa's Organic Plum Bites, pitted and quartered

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

3 tablespoons plus 1 cup all-purpose flour, divided

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 cup sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground mace

1 egg, lightly beaten

1/2 cup butter, melted

In a large bowl, combine the plums, brown sugar, 3 tablespoons flour and cinnamon. Spoon into a greased 2-qt. baking dish.

In a small bowl, combine the sugar, baking powder, salt, mace and remaining flour. Add egg; stir with a fork until crumbly. Sprinkle over plum mixture. Drizzle with butter.

Bake at 375° for 40-45 minutes or until plums are tender and top is golden brown. Cool for 10 minutes before serving. Serve warm or at room temperature. Yield: 8 servings.

This post is linked to:

Melt In Your Mouth 
Inspire Me Tuesday

Totally Tasty Tuesdays

Try a New Recipe Tuesday

Tasty Tuesdays

Full Plate Thursday

Foodie Friday

Summer Fruit Crumbles

 This recipe is an adaptation of Ina Garten’s Peach and Blueberry Crumbles.  I had no blueberries on hand, absolutely LOVE how delicious plums are when baked into a tart, crisp, crumble, or coffeecake, so decided to substitute plums for blueberries.  Am I ever glad that I did; these are sensational!  I served them to guests, topped with a scoop of vanilla frozen custard, and they practically licked their bowls clean.  These are so easy, and here’s a little hint for you, if you double the recipe for the crumble, you can store half of it in the freezer making short work when you decide to make these again, probably within days of making it the first time.  Yes, they are that good! 

Ready for the oven

Summer Fruit Crumbles

For the fruit:

1 pound peaches (I used one box of Melissa’s Organic Peach Bites)

1 pound plums (I used one box of Melissa’s Plumcots)

2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup all-purpose flour

For the crumble:

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 pound (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, diced

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Immerse the peaches in boiling water for 30 seconds to 1 minute, until their skins peel off easily. Place them immediately in cold water. Peel the peaches, slice them into wedges, and place them in a large bowl. Pit plums (no need to peel) and slice into similar size wedges, and place in bowl with peaches. Add the lemon zest, lemon juice, granulated sugar, and flour. Toss well. Allow the mixture to sit for 5 minutes before spooning into ramekins or custard cups.

For the topping, combine the flour, granulated sugar, brown sugar, salt, cinnamon, and the butter in the bowl of food processor. Pulse until the butter is the size of peas. Rub the mixture with your fingertips until it's in big crumbles, then sprinkle evenly over the fruit. Place the ramekins on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper or a Silpat, and bake for 40 to 45 minutes, until the tops are browned and crisp and the juices are bubbly. Serve warm or at room temperature.

If you want to make these early, store the unbaked crumbles in the refrigerator and bake before dinner.  These will keep 1-2 days in the fridge.

Don’t these look delicious?!

This post is linked to: Full Plate Thursday

Blueberry Crumble

This is the quickest, easiest dessert you'll ever make.  I call it "Blueberry Crumble" because I used blueberries, but truth be told you can use raspberries and call it Raspberry Crumble, blackberries and call it Blackberry Crumble, a variety of berries and call it Mixed Berry Crumble, peaches and raspberries and call it Peach Melba Crumble, well, you get the idea.  You can pretty much use any berry that you like, or peaches, nectarines, or plums, and come out with a delicious dessert, that will draw both admiration and praise.  I've been known to throw this together as surprise guests are having coffee in the living room, only to serve it an hour later.  The key is simply keeping fruit on hand. (I always have blueberries in the freezer - they freeze beautifully and, as a consequence, I'm never left guessing what to make for dessert when the pressure's on.)

The amount of fruit you use is pretty much up to you.  I grab a bowl the size of whatever amount of fruit I have and dump it in.  Be sure to wash the fruit thoroughly before use and allow it some time to drain (or pat it dry with paper towels if you're in a hurry).  If you're using fruit that has a pit, as in the case of peaches, plums, and nectarines, cut them in half and pit them, then slice them into wedges about a half inch thick.  (I do recommend the peach/blueberry or raspberry combination for both color and taste.)

Wash the fruit thoroughly before use and drain well.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. 

Put fruit into any size bowl that happens to be handy and that supports the amount of fruit you have on hand. I used this old favorite 1-qt. oval casserole.

Place the following ingredients into the work bowl of your food processor:

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup nuts (almonds, walnuts, pecans, and hazelnuts work well here)

1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

Pinch of salt

Pulse a couple of times until nuts are chopped fine and thoroughly blended into the flour/sugar mixture.

Cut 1 stick of cold butter, into 1/2-inch cubes and add to the dry mixture.  Pulse until mixture begins to clump. This will be your streusel topping.

Pour the topping evenly over your fruit, pressing down a bit.  If you have any left over, put it in a freezer bag, label it and freeze it to use for a future crumble, or topping on muffins or baked oatmeal.

 Bake in the middle of the oven for 20-25 minutes or until the fruit juices bubble on the side.  If the top starts to get too brown, cover it with a piece of foil.

Serve warm with a scoop of ice cream.  If there are any leftovers, I'm sure you can convince yourself that they would make an excellent breakfast, considering the serving of fruit and all.

Try it, and tell me what you think!

This post is linked to: