“He who likes cherries soon learns to climb”
German Proverb
Cherry & Plum Crisp … could there be a simpler way to celebrate summer? It’s a wonderful way to make Mothers Day special too. I am thrilled to find stone fruit lining the shelves in the local bazaar already. The first week of May and I was pleasantly surprised {read giddily ecstatic} to find the plumpest, juiciest and sweetest of cherries here already!
“Straight from the Himalayas for you” announced the ever charming vendor, knowing pretty well I see through his charm. Knows pretty well too that I cannot resist stone fruit. Year after year we play the same game. In the end the love of stone fruit rules!
This year the crops been better. Sweeter too. Deep, red and SWEET, pitting means a blood red splattered kitchen. Coloured hands, dripping juice and the temptation to gobble up mouthfuls mark this beautiful season.
The hotter and hotter it gets, the more unbearably the mercury rises, the sweeter the fruit get.The irony of life. The good and the bad go hand in hand and all proverbs fall true. No pain without gain, lose something to get something … and life goes on!
The same rings true with being a mother too. Agony and ecstasy? I constantly turn to one of my favourite authors Erma Brombeck for comic relief. Be it for mothers or otherwise, she always has something uncannily true, something that hits a home run each time.As for mothers, there are quotes and more quotes from time immemorial. Everyone has their two penny bit about mothers. For some reason every word makes sense. It doesn’t even matter which side of the fence you’re on!
Back to our bake. Nothing much to it.Crisp, cobblers, crumbles are no rocket science. Let your palette guide you. Throw in what you like. My recipe is really a rough guide to get you to enjoy summer and make the most of the abundance of summer fruit.
Crisps are baked with the fruit mixture on the bottom with a crumb topping. The crumb topping can be made with flour, nuts, bread crumbs, cookie or graham cracker crumbs, or even breakfast cereal. Crumble are the British version of the American Crisp.
Summer is for stone fruit. So much and more you can do. ENJOY!!
[print_this]Recipe: Cherry & Plum Crisp
Summary: A cherry and plum crisp that is simple and delicious. A celebration of summer!
Prep Time: 15 minutes Total Time: 40 minutes Ingredients:
350g sweet cherries, pitted
200g plums, pitted, chopped
75-100g brown sugar {depending on how sweet or sour the fruit is}
50g almonds, chopped {optional}
Few drops almond extract
10g cornflour
Topping
25g oats
50g flour
30g almonds
50g butter
Fresh cherries to serve
Method:
Preheat the oven to 200C. Place 6 ramekins on a baking sheet.
Filling
Place the fruit in a big non reactive/glass bowl with all ingredients and toss well to mix. Divide between 6 ramekins, pressing down gently to level out.
Crisp Topping
Place all ingredients except butter in bowl ofd food processor and pulse briefly in short intervals until a breadcrumb like mix is achieved.
Divide the topping between the ramekins to cover the surface. Gently press into place.
Bake for 30 minutes until bubbly and golden brown on top. If the top begins to get too brown, tent with a sheet of aluminum foil.
Serve warm or at room temperature. We are happy to have them chilled too!
Serve with cream, vanilla ice cream and fresh fruit.