Plumble
This plum crumble, otherwise known as a plumble, is infused with spicy mulled wine. The ideal Christmas dessert, this sweet hails from the Pieminister cookbook.
Introduction
Mulled wine and plums make an irresistible combination in a crumble. This is a great dish to have up your sleeve when friends or family come round with a bagful of ripe and juicy plums.
Ingredients
| 1 | bottle of red wine |
| 300 g | soft brown sugar |
| 6 | cloves |
| A piece of cassia bark or a cinnamon stick | |
| 2 | star anise |
| 10 | allspice berries |
| A thumb-sized piece of fresh ginger, roughly sliced | |
| 1 | vanilla pod, slit open lengthwise |
| 1.5kg plums, stoned and quartered | |
| For the crumble topping: | |
| 300 g | plain fl our |
| 200 g | rolled oats |
| 150 g | caster sugar |
| 250 g | lightly salted butter, cut into cubes |
Method
Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/gas mark 4. Put the plums into a large pan and strain the red wine on to them, discarding the spices. Bring to a simmer, then cover and cook gently for about 10 minutes, until the plums just start to break up a little. Remove them with a slotted spoon and set aside. Boil the liquid until reduced by half again to make a sticky syrup.
For the crumble topping, put all the ingredients into a bowl and rub together with your fingertips until the mixture resembles large breadcrumbs.
Divide the plums between 10 cups (don’t use your best china!), pour about a tablespoon of syrup over each one and scatter over the crumble mixture. Place on a baking sheet and bake for 15–20 minutes, until lightly browned. Serve with ice cream or custard and any leftover plum juices.
