Photograph by Gareth Sambidge
On late summer evenings as a child, I would tiptoe up the garden steps barefoot and cautiously walk through our wild garden towards the old Victoria plum tree, one of my mum’s mixing bowls resting in crook of my arms. The tree sat contorted, dark and crooked, but come its season, the branches hung heavy with fruits of mixed crimson and violet. The plumpest and most ripe were kissed with little hardened jewels where fruit met branch – crystallised sugar from oozing juices.
I would eat so many during my harvest that I’d inevitably spoil my dinner, but the plums that made it back home were always made into a crumble. Halved and tossed into a pie dish with spoonfuls of sugar sprinkled on top, and finished with a thick crumble layer of butter, flour, oats and sugar. The eyeballed measurements ensured that no two crumbles were the same – some were so tart your mouth would pucker after each spoonful – but there are few things that lashings of pouring cream or custard cannot save.
My love of plums and crumble has inspired this tart, which I’ve switched around, turning the crumble into a brown butter biscuit base, and finished off with a rich and creamy topping.
Plum crumble tart
Serves 8-10. Prep time 50 minutes, plus 6 hours total chilling time
For the crust:porridge oats 50gbutter 110gdigestive biscuits (or similar) 150groasted almonds 45gcaster sugar 60g ground cinnamon 1 tsp fine sea salt ¼ tsp sunflower seeds 20g
For the filling: plums 500g, plus more for optional decoration cornflour 25g lemon juice 20ml caster sugar 50g light brown sugar 25g fine sea salt ¼ tsp vanilla extract 1 tsp water 85ml orange zest ½ tsp
For the topping:crème fraîche 200g double cream 95ml light brown sugar 75g vanilla extract 1 tsp
You’ll need a 20cm removable-base tart tin
To make the tart case
Add the oats and 15g of the butter to a pan and set it over medium heat. Mix to coat the oats in the melted butter, then continue to cook, stirring the entire time, until the oats smell toasted and have taken on a golden colour. Transfer to a bowl to cool a little. Add the remaining butter to the pan and set over medium heat. Once the butter has melted, continue to cook while stirring. It will boil and sputter, then foam and smell nutty and finally turn a rich brown. Remove from the heat.
To a food processor add the biscuits, roasted almonds, caster sugar, cinnamon and salt and blend to a fine crumb. Pour in the melted and browned butter, making sure to scrape all of the browned milk solids from the pan into the blender, as this is where the flavour is. Blend the mixture to evenly distribute the butter. Add the toasted oats and sunflower seeds and mix by hand to combine, then pour the mixture into the 20cm tart tin, pressing down into the sides and base. Transfer to the fridge for an hour.
To make the filling
Rinse, dry and de-pit the plums, then cut into 2-3cm sized pieces. Place the plums into a pan, along with the cornflour, lemon juice, caster sugar, light brown sugar, fine sea salt, vanilla extract, water and orange zest. Mix well to combine, then set over medium heat, stirring often. Bring the mixture to a gentle boil and cook for 15-20 minutes, until it has thickened and turned a rich crimson colour.
Remove from the heat and allow to cool for 20 minutes before pouring into the chilled tart base. Return to the fridge and cool for at least 5 hours, or ideally overnight.
To make the topping
Whisk together the crème fraîche, double cream, light brown sugar and vanilla until stable – we want it to be able to hold its shape and stay put on the tart but still have a velvety softness. Spoon the whipped mixture on to the tart, then use a spatula or the back of a tablespoon to spread it out. If using, cut a plum into slices and decorate the whipped crème fraîche.