Autumn is my favourite time of year, not just because of the colours and dark nights. What I really love are the fantastic fruit and vegetables that come into their own.

I love warming, stick to your ribs comfort food at this time of year. I’ve had some really bland apple crumbles, so for a while I experimented with different versions and this is my favourite. I’ve used cinnamon, but cardamom also works really well.

I also added chopped dates, which adds a lovely toffee back note. The crumble has oats and nuts to add flavour and texture. It comes out of the oven with a crunchy topping and gooey jammy fruit base. I like mine with custard, but it also works well with ice cream.
Ingredients
600 Grams Plums (stones removed)
75 Grams Dates (finely chopped)
1/2 Tsp Cinnamon
100 Grams Brown Sugar
200 Grams Plain flour
100 Grams Porridge oats
50 Grams Almonds (chopped)
100 Grams Butter (cut into cubes)
Method
- Cut the plums in half and remove the stones
- Put the plums in an oven proof dish, and mix with the cinnamon and chopped dates
- For the crumble, you can add the flour, and butter to a food processor and mix. I couldn’t be bothered with the faff of getting the food processor out and then cleaning it. Instead I added the ingredients to a bowl and rubbed the flour and butter together
- When the flour, and butter are combined, add the sugar, oats and nuts and mix well
- Sprinkle the crumble over the fruit. Put the dish in an oven preheated to 180 degrees. Bake for 30-40 minutes, until brown and delicious