Plum Crumble

Summer is almost over and while the reprieve from the three digit temperatures is most definitely welcome, the prospect of not being able to find some of my favorite summer ingredients is down right upsetting. It is especially upsetting because I just baked plum for the first time and just discovered how much I love the flavor you can only get from a cooked plum. How dare nature make me wait until next summer to enjoy a bounty of plums baked and cooked into delicious submission.

I love biting into a fresh plum because they are so deliciously juicy and so wonderfully sweet. It’s hard to have just one, but even at a brisk eating pace, I was barely making a dent in the American-consumer sized pile of plums sitting in my kitchen, thanks to costco’s underpriced, oversized stock. Quickly my mind wandered to what deliciousness could come from baking these suckers.

What I came up with was a recipe you must try! Baking plums open up their flavor, pulling out a previously hidden tartness that is perfect with the natural sweet plum flavor. And with the crumble topping you get a delicious, sweet crunch that adds a texture that seems to juxtapose the baked plums perfectly. It’s a culinary surprise that will will pull you back for seconds and thirds… And probably fourth if there is any left.

Ingredients:
10 plums, pitted and quarted
1 cup flour
1 cup white sugar
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 egg
1/8th teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter

Instructions

1. Put the plum quarters into a large bowl. Add the brown sugar, 1 tablespoon of flour and 1/8th a teaspoon cinnamon. Mix until well coated.

2. Pour the plum mixture into eight ramekins, for individual portions, or one nine inch baking dish for a family size dish. Don’t be afraid to push the plums down to force them to fit.

3. Mix the flour, white sugar, remaining cinnamon and salt in a small bowl. Add the egg and mix with your hands until you get small crumbly bits.

4. Evenly spread the crumbles on top of the plums. Then evenly pour the melted butter over top to just saturate the crumble.

5. Bake in a preheated oven at 375 for 30 to 35 minutes, or until golden brown. Mine went 33 minutes.

I highly encourage you to try this recipe. I discovered something in plums I didn’t know existed; you may find your new favorite dessert!

And yes, the three extra crumbles sitting the platter are my seconds, thirds and fourths. No, they’re not for my friends or family this time. This recipe, this eye opening dish, is just too damn good to share.