Autumnal Plum Crumble

As it's getting a bit colder i'm looking forward to doing a bit more baking. It's been a while and i love baking but slaving over a hot stove in the depths of summer isn't for me, I'd much rather be out there basking in the sun I'm afraid!

Living in the countryside has brought seasonal eats to the forefront as I was presented with a bumper crop of petite plums, yum! But what to do with them? First up plum crumble, dare I say a winter warmer!

What you need for the filling;

• Plums - about 12 -15 shop size plums, but you can see the basket full of plums I used, these are about an inch and a half long.
• Juice of 1/2 a lemon
• Caster sugar 160g

What you need for the crumble;

• Butter - 125g - cubed and cold
• Flour - 175g
• Caster Sugar - 50g
• Brown/Muscovado Sugar - 50g
• Zest of 1 Lemon
• Nuts/Oats - 100g - what ever takes your fancy

How to make it:

• Grease your dish with butter
• Slice up your plums and throw them in - no prettiness required
• Pour over your lemon juice
• Pour over your sugar

Filling sorted - easy - now for the crumble;

• Put your flour, sugars and butter in a bowl and pinch it together with your fingers until you get a texture like bread crumbs
• Add in your lemon zest
• Add in any oats or nuts you want, i used large porridge oats and ground almonds
• Pour on top of your fruit 
• Add any more nuts - I used hazelnuts for a decoration and they were delicious (Mr Ward said hte best bits)

What a masterpiece?

Now stick it in the oven for 45mins, until the topping has started to brown and your juicy plums are oozing out from the edges

Oozy Fruit Goodness

Now stick it in a bowl, smother with custard and dig in!!!

If you have too much fruit you can make lots of crumble and pop it in the freezer before you bake itm then you've got a delicious pud just an hour away. Any fruit works in a crumble too and you can mix and match.

Now what to do with the rest of the plums? Jam or chutney perhaps??

xx