This simple and delicious Plum and Apple Crumble makes the most of in-season fruit for a fresh dessert the whole family will love!
Crumbles, crisps, cobblers, y'all I love them all. I like chocolate as much as the next person but give me a fruit filled dessert any day of the week and I'm a happy lady.
The great thing about crisps and crumbles is that you can basically utilize the same toppings recipe for any fruit that's in season! I put this crumble on top of strawberries and rhubarb, blueberries and peaches, cherries, mixed berries, you name it! Served with a scoop of ice cream it is pure heaven.
This Plum and Apple Crumble is perfect for that period of time in very late summer / beginning of fall when plums and apples are at their peak. I hope you enjoy it as much as we do!
Jump to:
What is a crumble?
A crumble, as opposed to a cobbler or crisp, traditionally refers to a mixture of flour, fat and sugar baked on top of stewed fruit.
It's sometimes confused with cobbler, which actually involves a wet batter being poured on top of the fruit before baking.
Some people will get technical with you about differentiating between a crumble and a crisp, which I understand to usually contains nuts and other add ins. But honestly I kind of see the two as pretty interchangeable.
Regardless of what you call them, all are absolutely delicious and a perfect way to make the most of our fresh, seasonal fruit!
Other dessert recipes you will love.
Equipment
- 10 inch casserole dish or cast iron skillet: I use this Le Creuset Cast Iron Skillet for shooting this crumble but I also love using this Le Creuset Stoneware Baking Dish. Any comparable sized dish will work!
- Mixing bowls: I'm a huge fan of these Pyrex Glass Mixing Bowls. They're microwave and dishwasher safe and nest really easily.
- Measuring cups and spoons
- Cutting board and knife
- Peeler (optional): I love using this Oxo Peeler but you can also use a knife if that works for you.
- Pastry cutter (optional): Alternatively you can use a fork or simply your hands.
Ingredients
- Apples: I like a mix of green and red apples for this recipe but you can really use whatever you have on hand.
- Plums: Fresh is best. Keep in mind the riper the sweeter, the less ripe the more tart. Feel free to adjust the sugar content based on the sweetness of the fruit and your personal preference.
- Lemon juice: I like using fresh but bottled will also work. You'll need about 1-2 tbsp.
- Ground ginger
- Cinnamon
- Salt
- All-purpose or plain flour
- Brown sugar
- White granulated sugar
- Rolled oats: Make sure to get flat cut rolled oats. Steel cut oats will not work in this recipe.
- Unsalted butter: I highly recommend using a high quality butter such as Kerrygold Unsalted Butter. If you only have salted butter on hand that's okay but I would omit adding an additional salt to the recipe.
Step by Step Instructions
Time needed: 50 minutes
- Preheat the oven and prepare the fruit.
- Mix up the fruit filling.
- Prepare the crumble topping.
- Add the fruit filling to a baking dish and top with the crumble mixture.
- Bake, rest and enjoy!
Recipe FAQs
For the most part yes! I actually use this crumble topping for a variety of other fruit based desserts.
The only thing that might need some adjusting is the sugar. Depending on the sweetness of the fruit you use you may want to add a little more or less sugar according to taste.
Feel free to experiment and find what you like best!
Yep! Simply make the crisp according to the instructions up until baking.
Then wrap the pre-baked crisp in freezer safe packaging and freeze for up to 3-4 months.
To serve, simply remove the crumble from the freezer and thaw in the fridge overnight. Then bake according to the original instructions.
You certainly can!
Simply multiply the ingredients by the amount you want and add an additional 5-10 minutes of bake time.
Yes, in fact it's delicious when made with about ⅓rd cup of chopped pecans or walnuts. Feel free to use what you have on hand. You can also play around with spices. Try adding fresh ginger (instead of dried) or even some cloves or allspice.
Serving Suggestions
My favorite way to serve this Apple and Plum Crumble is with a drizzle of heavy cream. It's also terrific with custard, yogurt, ice cream, whipped cream or simply served on its own!
Other recipes for you to enjoy.
Irish Apple Crumble with Whiskey Cream
Made this recipe? Let me know what you think in the comments!
Recipe
Plum and Apple Crumble
Equipment
- 10 inch casserole dish or cast iron skillet
- Mixing bowls
- Measuring cups and spoons
- Cutting board and knife
- peeler (optional)
- pastry cutter (optional)
Ingredients
For the fruit filling
- 2.5 cups apples, peeled and thinly sliced
- 2.5 cups plums, peeled and thinly sliced
- 1 lemon, juice of
- ⅓ cup white granulated sugar
- 3 tbsp all-purpose or plain flour
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- ½ tsp ginger
- pinch of salt
For the crumble topping
- ⅓ cup all-purpose or plain flour
- ⅓ cup light brown sugar
- ¼ cup white granulated sugar
- ⅔ cup rolled oats
- 6 tbsp cold unsalted butter, cubed
- pinch of salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. In a mixing bowl add all fruit filling ingredients and mix to combine. Set aside and rest for at least 5 minutes to allow the juices to release.
- In another mixing bowl combine the ⅓rd cup flour, ⅓rd cup brown sugar, ¼th cup white granulated sugar, ⅔rd cup rolled oats and a pinch of salt. Mix well. Add in cubed butter and use a pastry cutter or your hands to press or pinch the butter into the flour mixture until it is well incorporated and forms a crumbly texture.
- Pour the fruit mixture into a prepared 10 inch casserole dish or cast iron skillet. Then sprinkle the crumble mixture evenly over the top. Bake at 375 degrees F for 35-40 minutes until the fruit is bubbly and the topping is a crisp golden brown. Remove from the oven and allow to rest for 5-10 minutes before serving. Serve with a drizzle of heavy cream, yogurt, whipped cream, ice cream or simply on its own. Enjoy!
My niece is going to love this for dessert!
I love the combination of apple and plum together! Thanks for the recipe!
I love making crumbles. Such a great way to use summer fruits.
My kids have been on a big plum kick lately and they absolutely loved this crumble! So good with a little ice cream!
Love making fruit cobblers.
I have a question though: if you have no flour available can you just use only the rolled oats and hopefully you'll come out with crispy top. thanks.
I’ve never actually tried it with just flour. I imagine it would be a bit less crispy and crumbly than if you had flour, so I wouldn’t recommend leaving out the flour. But let me know if you do and how it turns out.
So glad I happened upon this recipe. I made it in our cast iron skillet and have already shared this with my neighbors. I am adding this to my fall recipe favorites!
I made this today but did not have enough fresh fruit so threw in a can of peaches that I found in my pantry. I also added some sliced almonds to the crumble. It’s so delicious!!
So glad you enjoyed it!