Do you all remember that fabulous Cherry Crumble recipe Kim Moss gave us early in the summer when cherries were so abundant on our local trees (see previous post Kim Moss’s Sumptuous Cherry Crumble)? Well, it’s fall now and the plum trees in Truchas have been laden with fruit. So Kim made a a delicious and, I have to say, stunningly beautiful Plum Crumble the other day. There is something about the purple/red color of this fruit once it is cooked that is simply hard to beat. I almost couldn’t EAT the stuff, my artist’s eye was so captivated by the visual! But I got over myself and dived in… much to my great gastronomic delight. So if I were you, I’d go get some plums and try this recipe. Warm out of the oven with a little Haagen Daz vanilla, it simply can’t be beat.
Filling
De-stem and pit 4 quarts of plums
Mix 1/2 C honey with the pitted cherries (more or less depending on the sweetness of the plums)
Add a pinch of salt (approx. 1/4 tsp, to taste)
1 tsp vanilla extract
Add 3 tsp cornstarch and mix well into the plum mixture
Put cherry mixture into a baking dish.
Topping
Seeds from 3 pods cardamom, finely ground
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt (to taste)
1 1/2 C oatmeal
1 1/2 C flour
1 1/2 C dark brown sugar
1/2 tsp lemon zest (optional)
1 1/2 sticks melted butter
Combine all dry ingredients, mixing well with hands
Melt the butter and mix into the dry mixture, breaking up some of the big clumps
Add the crumble to the top of the cherry mixture, leaving it fairly loose (do not pack down)
Put a tray under the baking dish in the oven to catch overflow
Bake at 375 for about 45 minutes or until the fruit mixture bubbles up through the edges of the crumble. Try to stop eating at thirds.
Love to you all,
Jeane
