Comforting Plum & Peach Crumble

Comforting Plum & Peach Crumble

In the name of fashion, well actually my dissertation, I have been researching, visiting archives and perusing through vintage Vogue. Plus it is New York Fashion Week, so that has kept me busy as you can see. So, as I was lazing around on my sofa this morning I thought I deserved a little treat and a dose of escapism. I decided to make this, it is exactly what you need after a hectic week and before an upcoming hectic week. Comfort, warmth and delicious flavours... plus this gave me the opportunity to use up some leftover fruit that I had in the basket after a food shoot. 

Ingredients

Filling: 

400g Ripe plums and peaches

Zest and juice of 1/2 an unwaxed orange

1/2 Cinnamon piece, broken up into pieces

A few cloves

1 Teaspoon of ground mixed spice

2 Tablespoons light brown sugar, or to taste

Topping: 

50g Plain flour

50g Demerara or golden caster sugar

50g Unsalted butter, chilled and diced

50g Ground almonds

Flaked almonds, to decorate

Makes 2: Large individual dishes

Method:

1. Heat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4. Wash the plums and peaches, remove the stone and cut into quarters. Place in a bowl with the cinnamon, sugar, orange juice and zest, cloves and mixed spice. Toss this until the ingredients are mixed well, then put aside. 

2. Mix the flour and sugar in a bowl and add the butter and mix into the flour. Rub the butter into the flour using your fingertips, until the mix turns into crumbs. Stir in the ground almonds. 

3. Place the fruit mixture into the individual dishes and top with the crumble. Put these into the oven for 30-35 minutes, add the flaked almonds to the top of the crumbles halfway through the cooking time. Keep an eye on them to ensure the crumble doesn't burn.  

4. Once they are ready serve with greek yoghurt, custard or vanilla ice-cream. <3

*Lipstick & Marzipan Tip: If you make too much of the crumble mixture, if your dish is smaller, pop into a food bag and place in the freezer and you can use it again.*

Recipe & Photography: Myself 

Assistir Filme »

Dessert at Jamie's Italian

So I went for a late lunch at Jamie Oliver's Italian chain of restaurants. I've been there before and the food is divine. I usually go for the Prawn Linguine but today I opted for the South Coast Fritto Misto. This was a range of fried fish and accompanied by a to-die-for tartare sauce. But anyway, let's talk about desserts. I could easily go to a restaurant and just eat 3 desserts, but me and The Mother had one each today. I had the Chocolate and Espresso Tart with sticky glazed figs and orange creme fraiche. Mummy had the Pannacotta, which came with strawberries. On my last visit I had the Bakewell Tart (they no longer do this...sigh) and my BFF had the Raspberry and Amaretto Brownie.  I sincerely apologise for the photo quality of the first two pictures. I went for lunch so the atmosphere did not warrant the use of my beloved Canon with flash and all the trimmings. So I decided to use my blackberry hence the blur, discolouration and overall yuckness.

Pannacotta: This has to be the most creamiest pannacotta I've ever had. It was smooth, silky and the subtleness of the vanilla was perfect. The strawberries provided another texture which went very well. I loved that it was rich and creamy but not heavy and was a good dessert to follow the meal.

Chocolate and Espresso Tart: The chocolate filling was dense and melted in the mouth, and had just the right balance of bitter and sweet. The figs and the orange creme fraiche were made to go with this tart. The glazed figs were just enough to add a sweet note to the dessert. Mmmh...

Bakewell Tart: Unfortunately, this is no longer on the menu. I am a huge fan of the not-so-humble bakewell tart. Have a rummage through my archives to see my recipes. This tart was so moist and the apricots were delightful. Gutted... is not the word to describe how much I wanted to scoff this today.

Raspberry and Amaretto Brownie: Isn't this just perfect. Amaretto is delicious as are raspberries and paired with chocolate... dessert heaven. This was scrumptious, the best part of this meal had to be when my BFF asked me ''Amaretto, is that a booze or a nut?''

Jamie's Italian have many locations across the country have a looksie on Jamie Oliver for your nearest one.

Assistir Filme »