MAKE MINE A CRISP…PLUMS n PEACHES!
Stone Fruit Crisp – Peaches & Plums…
This is quite the best time of the year to get inspired by summer fruits in food. This summer is special for me. The blogosphere is constantly churning out eye-catching & delicious fruity delights a dime a dollar!! It’s difficult to catch up & make each of them, but I’m getting on slowly & steadily… a real feast for the eyes. Here’s a stone-fruit crisp I made inspired largely by this ‘Triple Berry Rhubarb Crisp‘ posted by Susan’s @ Food Blogga. A single type of berry is hard enough to come by here where we live, so ‘triple berry’ could only exist in my dreams. I decided to go ahead & use what I had on hand…using this recipe for a ‘Plum & Peach Crisp’ from 101cookbooks.
PEACHES & PLUMS … YUM YUM YUM!!
Peaches, plums, cherries and apricots are a few of summer’s sweetest treasures. Few culinary pleasures compare with biting into a ripe sweet peach bursting with juice or enjoying a sugary sweet plum at the peak of its season. Most of the luscious fruits of summer are known as stone fruits because of the stone-like pit at the core of the fruit. When fully ripe and at the peak of their season, there’s no better way to enjoy stone fruits than simply eating them just as they are – fresh, sweet and full of juice. However, the exquisite flavors of ripe stone fruits lend themselves to many creative uses, be it fruit salads, cobblers or compotes.
The combination was finger licking good, & spoonfuls were doing the disappearing act, so the bowl was hurriedly bundled into the fridge. Baked the crisp the next day. Must say that the flavours that overtook the house were unbelievable… fruity wafts filled the air & the plummy-peach or peachy-plum syrup started bubbling over the edges. 
They have been and are still called by various names such as cobbler, tart, pie, torte, pandowdy, grunt, slump, buckles, crisp, croustade, bird’s nest pudding or crow’s nest pudding. They are all simple variations of cobblers, and they are all based on seasonal fruits and berries, in other words, whatever fresh ingredients are readily at hand. They are all homemade and simple to make and rely more on taste than fancy pastry preparation.Early settlers of America were very good at improvising. When they first arrived, they bought their favorite recipes with them, such as English steamed puddings). Not finding their favorite ingredients, they used whatever was available. That’s how all these traditional American dishes came about with such unusual names. Early colonist were so fond of these juicy dishes that they often served them as the main course, for breakfast, or even as a first course. It was not until the late 19th century that they became primarily desserts.
A really simple dessert to make…
Recipe for Peach & Plum Crisp as adapted from 101cookbookCrisp:
Brown sugar – 1/2 cup
Flour – 1/4 cup
Rolled oats – 1/2 cup
Almonds – 1/4 cup chopped
Ground cinnamon – 1 teaspoon
Ground ginger – 1/4 teaspoon
Butter – 4 tablespoons / melted 
Method:
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To make the topping combine the oats, flour, sugar, ginger, almonds and cinnamon together in a medium bowl. Stir in the butter & mix until everything comes together in a dough-like texture. Sprinkle the crumble evenly over the plum and peach mixture.
Filling:
Chopped peaches -2 cups ; chopped (about 3-4 large peaches)
Plums – 12-14; pitted & chopped
Granulated sugar – 1/4 cup
Light brown sugar – 1/4 cup
Cinnamon powder – 1 tsp
Ginger powder – 1/2 tsp
Cornstarch – 2 tablespoons
Method:
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Preheat the oven to 400F degrees.
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Cut the peaches and plums into bite-sized, 1-inch pieces. Gently simmer for 2-3 minutes with the ginger & cinnamon. Don’t overcook; the fruit should retain it’s shape.
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In a separate small bowl whisk together the cup sugar and the arrowroot. Sprinkle over the fruit, toss gently (but well). Allow to cool slightly.
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Put the fruit into an 8″ baking dish. Sprinkle the crumble evenly over the plum and peach mixture.
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Bake for about 20-25 minutes, or until the topping is golden & the fruit starts bubbling over the edges.
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Best served warm or at room temperature… even better with a dollop of whipped cream or a scoop of vanilla ice-cream.
Enjoy summer at it’s best…
Deeba @ PAB
About me: I am a freelance food writer, recipe developer and photographer. Food is my passion - baking, cooking, developing recipes, making recipes healthier, using fresh seasonal produce and local products, keeping a check on my carbon footprint and being a responsible foodie! I enjoy food styling, food photography, recipe development and product reviews. I express this through my food photographs which I style and the recipes I blog. My strength lies in 'Doing Food From Scratch'; it must taste as good as it looks, and be healthy too. Baking in India, often my biggest challenge is the non-availability of baking ingredients, and this has now become a platform to get creative on. I enjoy cooking immensely as well.
14 Comments
Lore
I would enjoy every bite of this summer dessert!
Nags
love the look of that last pic 🙂
Astra Libris
Ooooh, lovely! The addition of almonds is fantastic! Your photos are gorgeous, and your description of the baking process so wonderfully vivid that I can almost smell the crisp baking… Mmmm… (I’ve been in cobbler/crisp baking land myself – it truly is the perfect dessert for the season! 🙂
A_and_N
Aah, I have some apricots and peaches lying in the fridge, and A asks for dessert everyday after dinner. This is the surprise for him tomorrow! Don’t tell him ok? 😀
Gloria
This a lovely pictures and look so yummy!!! love it. xGloria
Proud Italian Cook
Deeba, This is what summers all about! I love the last picture, who wouldn’t want to eat that all up!
Manggy
Hah, I know what you mean re: the berries, but apparently you are not at a loss for delicious desserts anyway! 🙂
Pippi
ciao!!! what a wonderful blog!!! I copied your Pistacchio olive oil brownies 😉 see you soon Pippi
Zita
ummm…that’s a dessert to swoon… enjoy your summer too while it lasts 🙂
Rachel
I would love to gorge on that…When I have peaches with me..they get nibbled away before it could be made into something wonderful.
Mike of Mike's Table
Funny, I’ve had a crumble on my mind today, and then here’s your beautiful dessert. Now I must make one tonight!
Kate / Kajal
i’m ready for crumble any time 🙂
Love the first pic with the goodness ozzing out ! yum ! and oh the one with the ice cream too 😛
Susan from Food Blogga
Ooh, look at that sugary, bubbly fruit spilling over the edge of the dish. It’s irresistible.
familiabencomo
Mmmmm…. This is what I want for breakfast right now! Especially warm with melting ice cream.
Tanti baci, bella,
Amy