Plum and Apple Crumble

Soft spiced fruit topped with a crunchy almond topping make this plum and apple crumble recipe my go to dessert for winter evenings, hopefully it will become yours too!

Using up the last of Autumnal plums after making this plum yogurt cake, I had to make a crumble. Crumbles – like this apple and blueberry crumble – are simple to make, great for using up an abundance of seasonal fruit, and with this crumble recipe the mixed spice scented apples and plums remind me of Christmas! It is comforting, delicious, and very easy to make.

Jump to:

• Why we love this recipe
• Ingredients notes and substitutions
• How to make this recipe
• FAQ
• My recipe tips
• Serving Ideas
• Storage / Make Ahead
• Variations
• Other dessert recipes you may enjoy
• Plum and Apple Crumble

Why we love this recipe

• This simple apple plum crumble recipe is a great recipe for using up slightly under ripe plums and over ripe apples, cooking them makes them all juicy.
• The almond crumble topping. I could eat the topping on it’s own to be honest! Adding ground almonds / almond meal to the crumble adds a delicious toasted almond flavour and a light texture.
• The crumble cooking in the oven makes the kitchen smell amazing, and a real treat when the weather is cold and wet outside.

Ingredients notes and substitutions

• Apples – I use whatever apple is in the fridge to make a crumble: Jazz apples, Pink lady apples, Granny Smiths. You can use bramley apples too. Bramleys become softer when cooking so you don’t need to cut them into as small chunks as the other varieties of apple.
• Plums – most varieties of plum will make a delicious crumble, however you really want to have juice, ripe plums. If you use underripe plums you will need to add a little more sugar. Blood plums (aka satsuma plum) with their red flesh, or other red fleshed varieties add a lovely colour to the crumble.
• Butter – unsalted butter.
• Soft brown sugar – soft brown sugar is mixed with the apples and plums to give a lovely caramel flavour.
• Raw sugar – In Australia I like to make the crumble topping with raw sugar, as it adds a honey type taste to the crumble topping. You can use ⅓ brown sugar and ⅔ white sugar, or if you are in the UK, demerara sugar is a great alternative.
• Spices – mixed spice adds a warming note to the crumble, if you can’t get mixed spice then cinnamon is a great alternative.

How to make this recipe

Note: scroll down to the end of the post for the full detailed recipe.

• Peel and core the apples and cut in to quarters, and then cut each quarter in to 3.
• Cut the plums in half, take out the stone and then cut each half in to 4-6 pieces depending on the size of the plum.
• Place the prepared fruit in to a baking dish and sprinkle with mixed spice and sugar. Mix to combine.
• Make the crumble topping: Rub the butter into the flour and almond meal / ground almonds lightly with your finger tips until it resembles breadcrumbs, stir in the sugar.
• Spoon the crumble mixture over the top of the fruit, taking care not to press down.
• Place in a preheated oven for 35 – 40 minutes until the top of the crumble is light golden brown and the apples and plums are tender.

FAQ

My recipe tips

• Don’t pile the fruit in too thick a layer as it will take longer to cook.
• Cut the apples the same size, and the plums slightly larger than the apple, to ensure the fruit is all cooked evenly and all soft.
• Never press down the crumble topping on top of the fruit! Otherwise your crumble will be hard and stodgy rather than crispy and light.
• If your apples and plums are very underripe I recommend adding another 1-1.5 tablespoons of brown sugar to them otherwise the crumble may be a little sour.

Serving Ideas

• Serve your plum and almond crumble with a scoop of vanilla ice cream (I just love that hot crumble cold ice cream combination!) or a generous drizzle of custard. You can also serve crumble with some pouring cream or whipped cream.

Storage / Make Ahead

• Fridge: This plum apple crumble will keep in the fridge, covered, for up to 3 days. Reheat in a moderate oven (180˚C / 350˚F) until warmed through or heat in the microwave.
• Freezer: fruit crumbles like this one freeze really well. Cool completely then place in a freezer proof container and seal. Freeze for up to 2-3 months.
• Make ahead: You can also make the crumble topping ahead of time, and store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5-7 days.

Variations

• Apple plum and blackberry crumble: add a handful of washed blackberries to the plums and apples.
• Spices: use ground cinnamon or add a pinch of ground ginger to the crumble mix or the fruit.
• Add a spoonful of orange juice and 1 tablespoon orange zest (from approx ½ orange) to the fruit.
• To make this a vegan crumble: use vegan butter or margarine.
• For a gluten free crumble: replace the flour with gluten free flour.
• To make a nut free crumble: or if you don’t want to use ground almonds / almond meal, replace with the same weight of flour – so use 200g ( 7oz) plain flour with 100g (3.5oz) butter and 100g (3.5oz) sugar.

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