I’m a fan of velvety, fragrant apples topped with a crunchy biscuit, served with a scoop of gorgeous creamy ice cream, but never before have I tried making a plum crisp.

Boy, was I missing out! The tartness of the tasty plums balances out the sweetness perfectly. In fact, I think after trying out a plum crisp I’d actually pick it over an apple crisp.

Crisps, crumbles and cobblers are all essentially the same thing – all fruit topped with a biscuit, and all absolutely delish! 

I think they are fantastic desserts that give you a bit of everything. They are also really easy to scale up and down, depending on the crowd you need to feed.

These desserts are easy to make; a few times and you’ll be able to make them by heart. The great thing is that if you leave something out or change something it’ll probably still taste just as good. The plums can even be replaced for other fruit like apples, nectarines, or pears to name a few.

How to Make the Plum Crisp

For crisps, the general rule is that any other fruit besides apples can go in raw. However, I find that stewing the plums beforehand results in a tastier crisp, and is really not so much of a hassle. 

Preparing the Plum Filling

To start off, pit and then either dice or slices your plums. I used a mixture of ripe plums and harder ones, balancing out the tartness of the harder ones. 

Toss the plums, lemon juice, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt into a medium pot and simmer for 20 minutes with the lid closed, stirring occasionally. Remove the lid and boil uncovered for about 5 minutes, allowing it to thicken slightly. You want a consistency that is still delightfully saucy, but not watery. If it thickens up a bit too much, as mine did, just add a splash of water and stir.

Whilst the plums are cooking away, start on the oat and almond topping. 

Preparing the Oat & Almond Biscuit Topping

Simply stir together the cake flour, salt, brown sugar, and baking powder. To this, you’ll then add the butter. You can either cut it in using a food processor or pastry cutter, or rub it in using your fingertips. Whatever method you decide to go with, you should land up with a crumbly mixture.

Next, you’ll add in the vanilla essence, rolled oats, and milk. Stir it only until just mixed in. Lastly, mix in the almonds.

Cover the topping with clingfilm and place it in the fridge until you are ready to assemble the dish. The longer it stays in the fridge the better, I would say try and chill it for at least 30 minutes.

Assembling the Plum Crisp

Finally, layer a greased ovenproof dish with the plums at the bottom and crumble the on it the oat and almond topping. 

Bake until that to-die-for topping becomes a lovely golden-brown.

Serving & Storing the Plum Crisp

This plum crisp is obviously amazing with vanilla ice cream (what isn’t?) and it also goes well with custard or cream. This dessert is best enjoyed warm, but storing the leftovers (if there are miraculously any) in the fridge for the next day never hurt anyone.

Print Recipe

Plum Crisp with Oat and Almond Topping

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Dessert

Serves: 6-8

Prep Time: 20 minutes – Cooking Time: 50-55 minutes – Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes

An easy crowd-pleaser that will have people back for seconds...and thirds! A lovely combination of sweet and tart, this dessert is a real winner!

Ingredients

• Plum Filling
• 1kg plums pitted and cut into cubes or slices (I used about ½ ripe plums and ½ harder ones)
• 1½ T lemon juice
• ¼ cup brown sugar
• pinch cinnamon
• pinch salt
• Oat and Almond Topping
• 1 cup cake flour
• ½ tsp salt
• ¼ cup brown sugar
• 1 tsp baking powder
• ½ cup butter, cubed
• 1 tsp vanilla essence
• ½ cup rolled oats
• 1T milk
• ⅓ cup almonds (coarsely chopped)

Instructions

Plum Filling

1

Add all the plum filling ingredients into a medium pot and simmer with the lid closed for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

2

Take off the lid and boil for about 5-10 minutes, to allow the filling to thicken. You want it to still have a lovely sauce, but not be watery. If it becomes too watery simply add a splash of water and stir.

3

Once the plum filling is fragrant and has reached the right consistency, remove it from the heat.

Oat and Almond Topping

4

Mix together the cake flour, salt, brown sugar, and baking powder.

5

Using a food processor, pastry cutter, or your fingers, cut/rub in the butter. The mixture should become crumbly.

6

Stir in the vanilla essence, rolled oats, and milk, mixing until just combined. Lastly, stir in the almonds.

7

Allow this mixture to chill, covered, in the fridge for at least 30 minutes before assembling.

Assembling the Plum Crisp

8

Preheat the oven to 180°C and grease a medium-sized dish.

9

Scoop the plum filling into the prepared dish and crumble onto it the chilled oat and almond topping.

10

Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until golden brown and crisp on top.

Notes

Enjoy with cream, vanilla ice cream, or custard. This dessert is best enjoyed warm, but storing the leftovers (if there are miraculously any) in the fridge for the next day never hurt anyone.

For a one-page recipe printout, please visit this google doc.

If you’re looking for a relatively healthy, low-carb berry dessert you should definitely try out this berry and sago pudding.