A kilo of fresh plums goes into Hairy Bikers plum crumble raw and quartered, tossed in mixed spice, cinnamon and the zest and juice of an orange. The recipe is in Perfect Pies, bakes for 45 minutes at 200°C and serves six to eight at about 400 calories.
They say crumbles are among their very favourite puds and that the variety of toppings and fillings is endless. This one is their spiced version, built around orange and warm spice rather than the fruit alone.
The plums are dressed before the topping is even made. Sugar, spice and orange zest go over them first, then the juice, and they sit soaking while you rub the butter in.
Hairy Bikers Plum Crumble
Description
A kilo of plums goes in quartered and raw, tossed in spice and orange. The topping is rubbed together by hand until it looks like coarse breadcrumbs, then scattered straight over. Forty-five minutes at 200°C does the rest, and it serves six to eight.
Ingredients
For the filling
For the crumble topping
Instructions
- Dress the plums: Put the plums into a 2-litre shallow ovenproof dish and sprinkle over the sugar, mixed spice and cinnamon. Add the orange zest and toss until the quarters are lightly coated. Pour over the orange juice and set aside.
- Heat the oven: Preheat to 200°C, fan 180°C, gas 6.
- Make the topping: Put the flour, oats and demerara sugar in a large bowl and add the cubes of cold butter. Rub the butter in with your fingertips until the mixture looks like coarse breadcrumbs.
- Assemble: Sprinkle the crumble evenly over the plums.
- Bake: Bake for about 45 minutes, until the plums have softened and the topping is golden brown.
- Check it: Poke a knife into the centre to make sure the plums are soft and juicy.
- Serve: Serve with cream, custard or ice cream.
FAQs
Does this plum crumble have oats in it?
Yes, 50g of jumbo porridge oats go into the topping with the flour and sugar. The book is clear about why: they give it a fab chewy texture.
Jumbo oats matter rather than the fine porridge sort, because they stay whole and give you something to bite. Fine oats just disappear into the flour and you may as well leave them out.
Can I make it without the oats?
You can. Take them out and increase the flour to 250g, which keeps the topping the right quantity for a 2-litre dish.
What you lose is the texture. Without oats it becomes a soft, sandy topping rather than one you notice, which is the difference between this and a plain crumble.
Do I need to cook the plums first?
No, they go in raw and quartered. Forty-five minutes in a hot oven is enough to soften them and draw the juice out.
That is why the orange juice goes over them at the start, so they have something to sit in while the topping is made. Test with a knife at the end rather than assuming.
Why demerara sugar in the topping?
Because it does not dissolve the way caster sugar does. The larger crystals stay slightly crunchy through baking and go a deeper golden brown on top.
There is 125g of it in the topping and only 50g in the fruit, which tells you where the sweetness is meant to come from. Plums are sharp, so the balance works.
What else can I use instead of plums?
They say the variety of fillings is endless, and Perfect Pies has three more crumbles alongside this one: apricot and almond, toffee banana and pineapple, and rhubarb and ginger.
Any sharp fruit suits this topping. Their rhubarb and custard tart is the other autumn fruit pudding on the site, though that one sets rhubarb under custard in a pastry case rather than baking it under crumble.
