For our special Friday dessert, I decided to do a little spin on the peach crisp post that I put together earlier last week ... introducing, PLUM and peach crisp. It's a little different from my earlier post, this time with plenty of extra crisp, or crumble, or whatever you call the topping part. I suspect I'm like many of you in liking a high crisp to fruit ratio. When it comes down to it, I'm after a spoonful of oat-flecked crumbly crust, some deliciously warm and fragrant fruit, paired with a dollop of cold, creamy vanilla ice cream. I'm not sure it gets much better. Jeremy felt it didn`t have enough fruit, but I loved it. So there you go...
In my mind a good crisp recipe incorporates a few other considerations as well. First off, I don't like overcooked, un-textured fruit. I like that this cooking time is relatively short compared to other crumble or crisp recipes. Just enough to get the topping nice and golden. Also along these lines, use fruit that is ripe, but not overly ripe. You`ll want the fruit to retain shape and texture. Too ripe it goes to mush. Not ripe enough, you'll fight the stone fruits through the entire slicing and pitting process. They let you know when they are ready.
In my mind a good crisp recipe incorporates a few other considerations as well. First off, I don't like overcooked, un-textured fruit. I like that this cooking time is relatively short compared to other crumble or crisp recipes. Just enough to get the topping nice and golden. Also along these lines, use fruit that is ripe, but not overly ripe. You`ll want the fruit to retain shape and texture. Too ripe it goes to mush. Not ripe enough, you'll fight the stone fruits through the entire slicing and pitting process. They let you know when they are ready.
A couple other notes about this recipe: In addition to being very sweet, most crisp/crumble/ cobbler-type toppings are big-time butter bombs - unnecessarily so. This recipe tries to scale back a bit here without sacrificing taste or texture, and uses yogurt to keep things moist. Also, you can sweeten the fruit part to taste with whatever sweetener you prefer (white sugar, honey etc.)
So my wonderful cooking family, do enjoy this crisp recipe, and feel free to swap in your favourite stone fruits and berries. You could also do individual versions in ramekins as well. Bon appétit! .
Fruit:
1 pound ripe peaches
1 pound ripe plums
1/4 cup natural cane sugar (or brown sugar)
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoons arrowroot (or cornstarch)
a scant 2-3 teaspoons lemon juice (to prevent the fruit from browning)
So my wonderful cooking family, do enjoy this crisp recipe, and feel free to swap in your favourite stone fruits and berries. You could also do individual versions in ramekins as well. Bon appétit! .
Fruit:
1 pound ripe peaches
1 pound ripe plums
1/4 cup natural cane sugar (or brown sugar)
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoons arrowroot (or cornstarch)
a scant 2-3 teaspoons lemon juice (to prevent the fruit from browning)
Crisp:
3/4 cup rolled oats
3/4 cup white whole wheat flour (all-purpose flour)
1/2 cup natural cane sugar (or brown sugar)
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
big pinch of salt
1/3 cup butter, melted
1/3 cup yogurt
3/4 cup rolled oats
3/4 cup white whole wheat flour (all-purpose flour)
1/2 cup natural cane sugar (or brown sugar)
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
big pinch of salt
1/3 cup butter, melted
1/3 cup yogurt
1. Preheat the oven to 400F degrees.
2. Cut the peaches and plums into bite-sized, 1-inch pieces. I cut relatively chubby slices and then cut them again in quarters or thirds. Place the chopped fruit in a medium-sized bowl.
3. In a separate small bowl whisk together the 1/4 cup sugar and the arrowroot. Sprinkle over the fruit, toss gently (but well), add the dash of lemon juice, toss again, and transfer the fruit to an 8-inch square baking dish (or your favorite equivalent-sized, deep-sided, solid-bottomed tart pan).
4. To make the topping combine the oats, flour, sugar, and cinnamon together in a medium bowl. Stir in the butter, and then the yogurt and mix until everything comes together in a dough-like texture. Sprinkle the crumble evenly over the plum and peach mixture.
5. Place the baking dish in the oven, middle rack, and bake for about 20-25 minutes, or until the topping is golden. Sprinkle a bit more sugar on top as it comes out of the ovens, and if you have a lemon onhand, grate a bit of zest on top (optional). Enjoy warm or at room temperature.
2. Cut the peaches and plums into bite-sized, 1-inch pieces. I cut relatively chubby slices and then cut them again in quarters or thirds. Place the chopped fruit in a medium-sized bowl.
3. In a separate small bowl whisk together the 1/4 cup sugar and the arrowroot. Sprinkle over the fruit, toss gently (but well), add the dash of lemon juice, toss again, and transfer the fruit to an 8-inch square baking dish (or your favorite equivalent-sized, deep-sided, solid-bottomed tart pan).
4. To make the topping combine the oats, flour, sugar, and cinnamon together in a medium bowl. Stir in the butter, and then the yogurt and mix until everything comes together in a dough-like texture. Sprinkle the crumble evenly over the plum and peach mixture.
5. Place the baking dish in the oven, middle rack, and bake for about 20-25 minutes, or until the topping is golden. Sprinkle a bit more sugar on top as it comes out of the ovens, and if you have a lemon onhand, grate a bit of zest on top (optional). Enjoy warm or at room temperature.
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