Fruit crumble is my go-to recipe whenever I want to make an eggless dessert. The preparation is quite easy; it consists of mixing flour, sugar and cold butter into crumbs. To add more body to this version of the crumble, I adjusted the quantities and blended oatmeal into the mixture.
As for the fruit, I used black plums. Unfortunately, we already harvested all the plums from the garden a few weeks ago for the hazelnut plum pie. Luckily, I was able to find the same kind of plums at the farmers’ market that were just as delicious. I peeled the plums, seared them in butter and sugar and finished them with a dust of flour. The fruit was then covered with the crumble mixture and baked until golden and crisp.
1. Info for Plum Crumble Recipe (Oatmeal Crisp)
- Cook Time: unavailable
- Total Time: unavailable
- Servings: 8
- Calories: unavailable
2. Ingredients for Plum Crumble Recipe (Oatmeal Crisp)
- 1 dozen ripe plums, the quantity varies with the size of the fruit
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice, freshly squeezed
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 stick), cold and diced
- 1 cup all-purpose flour, + 1 tablespoon
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 3 tablespoons brown sugar (optional)
- 1-½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1-½ cups oatmeal
3. Directions:
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Wash the plums, peel (I used a Messermeister vegetable peeler, which peels very thinly) and cut them in half. Transfer to a bowl. Coat them in lemon juice.
- In a non-stick pan, melt 2 tablespoons of butter. Add the plums and cook until well seared. Sprinkle with brown sugar (if used). Toss well. Sprinkle with 1 tablespoon flour. Once the juice slightly thickens, turn off the heat.
- Add vanilla extract and set aside.
- In a bowl, combine the flour, remaining butter, granulated sugar and salt. Mix using the back of fork (or a stainless-steel pastry blender) until it forms sandy crumbs of butter, sugar and flour. Add the oatmeal. Do NOT over-mix. Store in the refrigerator until chilled.
- Assembly time: You can serve the crumble family-style in a large, deep casserole dish or serve it individually in little molds (see tips).
- Line the molds with squares of parchment paper. Cover the molds with plums. Evenly spoon the crumble topping over the plum filling.
- Bake in the middle of the oven for 50-55 minutes, until the top is crisp and golden and the filling is bubbling.
- Allow to cool for at least 15 minutes.
- Serve warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or a dollop of whipped cream.
- If you like, decorate by dusting the top with powdered sugar using a fine mesh strainer.
- Bon appétit!