Best Ever Plum Crumble

I discovered crumbles not long time ago, but immediately fall in love. Thank to the British for this amazing, simple and absolutely delicious dish! I’ve already tried various sweet crumble recipes – with peaches, mixed berried, pears.. I love them all! But.. Once I stumbled upon a new crumble recipe by James Martin, he is a well-known English chef; the recipe called for plums, spices and wine. And what do you think – it’s the best crumble I’ve ever made and tried! Plums with spices sautéed in red wine remind me mulled wine, and it’s incredibly tasty! This crumble is very aromatic and delicious even without ice cream on top! I slightly adapted the recipe – added oats and chopped nuts, walnuts and/or pistachios is a nice crunchy addition here.

Best ever plum crumble

Servings: 2
Time: 40mins
Difficulty: easy
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Ingredients

20g butter

7-8 dark plums, halved, stones removed

1 vanilla pod or 1 tsp vanilla extract

1 star anise

a pinch of fresh nutmeg

1 cinnamon stick

20ml water

60ml red wine

2-3 tbsp golden syrup (I used honey)

2-3 tbsp brown or raw sugar

Crumble topping

50g plain flour

30g oat flour or fine oats

2 tbsp demerara sugar

40g butter, softened

2-3 tbsp chopped pistachios or walnuts

To serve

vanilla ice cream

Preparation

Preheat oven to 200C.
Heat the butter in a pan over medium heat. Add the plums and fry for a few minutes.
Add the split vanilla pod, star anise, nutmeg and cinnamon stick to the pan. Add the water, red wine, honey and sugar and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 5-6 minutes, until the plums break down to a thick sauce. Transfer plums with sauce to one or 2 individual baking dish.
For the crumble topping, mix the flours and sugar together in a bowl. Rub in the butter with your fingers until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Mix in chopped nuts.
Sprinkle the crumble over the plums and bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes, until golden-brown.
Remove and allow to cool slightly before serving with ice-cream.

Enjoy!

41 Comments

platedujour says:

My goodness this looks absolutely mouthwatering!! I will be trying it next weekend- not kidding you! xx
March 17, 2015 at 00:48
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- milkandbun says:
  
  I’m sure you will like it! thank you, Marta!😘and G’Night!
  March 17, 2015 at 01:29
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  - platedujour says:
    
    Good night 🙂
    March 17, 2015 at 01:36
cheri says:

Love plums and crumbles, yours looks amazing!
March 17, 2015 at 02:23
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- milkandbun says:
  
  Thank you! What’s your favourite crumble?:)
  March 17, 2015 at 19:55
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Amanda | What's Cooking says:

I love crumble and this one looks spectacular! The spices really make it unique but I can see how they’d bring out the flavor of the fruit. I would never have thought to use star anise, but it’s brilliant!
March 17, 2015 at 08:33
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- milkandbun says:
  
  Thanks a lot, Amanda! You can also make a plum jam with star anise- very yummy! 🙂
  March 17, 2015 at 19:57
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Heather @ Sweet Precision says:

This looks decadent! Crumbles are one of my favorite desserts because they come together so quickly and taste so delicious. I’ve never tried using plums before- what a wonderful idea!
March 17, 2015 at 16:42
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- milkandbun says:
  
  And they always turn out good – zero failures! 😀
  March 17, 2015 at 20:01
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oceanviewkitchen says:

This looks amazing! Love the bright colors… Sounds delicious!
March 17, 2015 at 20:58
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- milkandbun says:
  
  Thank you! 🙂 and it really was tasty!
  March 20, 2015 at 15:41
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Ginger says:

This looks delicious! I know what you mean about crumbles – surely they should be the no. 1 British export by now!
March 17, 2015 at 21:21
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Bonnie Eng says:

I love how there are oats and demerara sugar in the topping…I bet the texture is great. If I find some good looking plums at the market today I’ll try this…thanks for sharing!! 🙂
March 17, 2015 at 22:16
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- milkandbun says:
  
  You will not regret, Bonnie! It’s my fav crumble recipe! 🙂
  March 20, 2015 at 15:42
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MamaD1xx4xy says:

Plums and wine, this has got to be incredibly delicious! Wish we could get our plums to grow, time to get another tree to get the female/male germination going. I will make this soon I think!
March 18, 2015 at 03:51
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- milkandbun says:
  
  Anyway, you are lucky to have your own garden and some fruit-trees! 🙂
  March 20, 2015 at 15:45
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Sarah 'n Spice says:

Crumbles are one of my favorite desserts! I’ve never tried it with plums, but I will now 🙂
March 19, 2015 at 01:12
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- milkandbun says:
  
  What fruits do you like in crumbles, Sarah? 🙂
  March 20, 2015 at 15:43
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  - Sarah 'n Spice says:
    
    I love cherry crumbles the best 🙂
    March 20, 2015 at 20:31
Michelle says:

Winy plums. With wine! Looks wonderful.
March 19, 2015 at 04:18
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- milkandbun says:
  
  Winy plums have an amazing smell and taste! 🙂 Thanks for commenting!
  March 20, 2015 at 15:44
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Justine @ Born and Bred in Brooklyn says:

This sounds so delicious! And I love the crumble on top 🙂
March 19, 2015 at 04:41
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- milkandbun says:
  
  Hi Justine! Those flavourful winy plums are so good, highly recommended to try! 😉
  March 20, 2015 at 15:46
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Nancy says:

I can’t get enough plums when they’re in season and this looks like a delicious use for them! The use of wine sounds great. I’ll give this crumble a try when I can get my hands on some good plums! Thanks for sharing your recipe, Mila!
March 19, 2015 at 19:27
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- milkandbun says:
  
  Happy to hear, Nancy! I make crumbles when I don’t have enough time to make a pie/cake or when I’m lazy! and it’s always delicious! 🙂
  March 20, 2015 at 15:50
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Shanna Koenigsdorf Ward says:

Really great recipe. The beautiful, bright fruit really shines here! Your photos have sold me! 🙂
March 19, 2015 at 19:46
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- milkandbun says:
  
  Thank you, Shanna! 🙂
  March 23, 2015 at 00:11
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dianeskitchentable says:

I love crumbles too and they’re so good with a variety of fruits. I’ve never tried a plum crumble but this one looks great.
March 19, 2015 at 22:11
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- milkandbun says:
  
  Agree, crumble is always such a yummy dessert! 🙂
  March 23, 2015 at 00:12
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spiceinthecity says:

Wow this crumble looks utterly beautiful!!
March 21, 2015 at 00:22
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- milkandbun says:
  
  And the taste.. mmm so good, too! 🙂 Thanks for visiting, Naina!
  March 23, 2015 at 00:14
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Kelsey says:

amazing. looks like a well made and super delicious crumble!
March 21, 2015 at 00:59
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- milkandbun says:
  
  It is very flavourful and delicious! Thanks for stopped by, Kelsey!
  March 22, 2015 at 18:29
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gourmet.gourmand says:

This looks soooo amazing!!
March 21, 2015 at 04:33
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- milkandbun says:
  
  Thank you so much!😊
  March 22, 2015 at 18:28
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polianthus says:

Reblogged this on polianthus and commented:
Just found this on milk and bun – love the combination of plums and star aniseed, wanted to store the recipe, and what better way of showing admiration, and storing the recipe for future reference is there, than reblogging? Well I don’t know!
March 22, 2015 at 21:31
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- milkandbun says:
  
  Thanks a lot for reblogging, Poli! It’s indeed aromatic and tasty dessert! 🙂
  March 30, 2015 at 19:28
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  - polianthus says:
    
    u are welcome looked amazing!
    March 31, 2015 at 11:05
Margot @ Gather and Graze says:

I love all the flavours used in this crumble Mila! Beautiful! Plus your addition of chopped nuts to the crumble must add such a lovely texture and flavour… good thinking! 🙂
March 23, 2015 at 02:16
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- milkandbun says:
  
  Those plums are so good, you can even serve them without crumble 😀 with plain or vanilla yogurt or ice cream! Yumyum! 🙂
  March 30, 2015 at 19:32
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MyKabulKitchen says:

I love crumble for how simple it is!! Such an easy dessert to whip up, and your version with plums looks divine 🙂
March 28, 2015 at 01:20
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