This plum crumble is buttery, dense, and perfectly fruity. Top it with vanilla ice cream for a one of a kind dessert!
This plum crumble doesn’t skimp on texture. Between the crumbly topping and the silk prune filling, you’ll be lucky if you can stop at just one serving.
When plums are in season and abundant in my local farmer’s market, I can hardly resist baking with them. In my opinion, they are one of the best fruits to incorporate into so many different desserts. Why? As the sweet flesh bakes in the oven, it turns into a gummy, mildly sweet jam. Yum!
If you’re just as obsessed with plums, try out oatmeal plum cake or plum pie. You’ll love them!
How to Make Plum Crumble
Making plum crumble doesn’t require any technical baking skills or special ingredients. Below, find a quick rundown of the recipe before you get to baking.
- Make the Crumble: Using a food processor, pulse the crumble ingredients together until well-combined. Set it aside in the fridge while you make the plum filling.
- Make the Plum Filling: Using a sharp knife, dice the plums into evenly-sized small cubes. In a mixing bowl, toss the diced plums with flour, sugar, and lemon juice.
- Assemble the Plum Crumble: Spread half of the crumble into a baking sheet. Next, top the crumble with the plum filling. Spread the remaining crumble on top.
- Bake the Plum Crumble: Bake the plum crumble at 350°F for around 40 minutes or until it turns golden brown. Enjoy as-is or topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream!
Tips for Making the Best Plum Crumble
Below, find some handy pro tips to help you make the best plum crumble on the planet.
- Mind the measurements. To get the perfect crumbly texture, mind the measurements closely. Adding too much flour will make the crumble dry and adding too much butter will make it soggy.
- Use the freshest plums you can find. Fresh, in-season plums will have the brightest and most sweet flavor. Avoid using canned or jarred plums.
- Work with very cold butter for the crumble. Cold butter is ideal for baked goods that you want to form a nice crisp. Keep the butter refrigerated until right before you plan to make the crumble!
- Add a bit of orange zest. If you want a citrusy pop of flavor, add a bit of orange zest to the plum filling.
Hot Tip: If you want thicker crumble, bake it in a pie dish or baking dish. Just make sure to increase the baking time by a couple minutes to compensate for the thickness.
Storing Plum Crumble
- Refrigerator: Store plum crumble in an airtight container or wrapped in plastic wrap in the refrigerator. It should stay fresh for 5 days.
- Freezer: Freeze baked plum crumble by letting it cool completely first. Next, wrap each individual slice tightly in plastic wrap. Freeze for up to a month.
FAQ
Can you freeze a cooked plum crumble?
Yes, you can freeze a cooked plum crumble. To do so, allow it to cool completely. Next, slice it into squares and wrap each tightly in plastic wrap. Pop in the freezer and store them for up to 1 month.
Why is my crumble topping soggy?
Your crumble likely turned out soggy if you used too much butter. Mind the measurements and you should be fine!
Can I make the crumble the day before?
Yes, you can make the crumble up to 24 hours in advance. Keep it covered with plastic wrap until you’re ready to bake to prevent it from absorbing any lingering smells in the refrigerator.
How long does plum crumble last?
Plum crumble will last up to 5 days when stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
What’s the difference between a crumble and a crisp?
The difference between a crumble and a crisp is that a crumble is dense and cakey throughout, while a crisp contains more fruit filling and an oat-based topping.
More Fruity Desserts
- Fruit & Prune Lumberjack Cake – Hearty fruit cake
- Cherry Cobbler – Juicy cherries with a flakey, buttery topping.
- Free Form Peach Pie – Pretty peach galette
- Fresh Fruit Tart – Easy to assemble fruit tart
- Cherry Cake Recipe – 4 ingredient cherry cake
- Southern Peach Cobbler – Warm peach filling topped with a crumbly cobbler crust.
Recipe
Ingredients
Crumble
- 5 cups flour
- 1 cup sugar
- 6 oz Unsalted Butter very cold
- 2 eggs
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- 1/8 tsp salt
Plum Filling
- 5 cup fresh diced plums
- 3 tbsp lemon juice
- 1/2 cup flour
- 1 cup sugar
Instructions
- Gather the ingredients for the crumble. Into a food processor, add the flour, sugar, butter, eggs, baking powder, and a pinch of salt. Pulse until the ingredients are well-combined.
- Place the crumble into the fridge while you prepare the plum filling.
- Dice the plums into small cubes.
- In a medium bowl, combine the plums, flour, sugar, and lemon juice.
- Spread half of the crumbles onto a baking sheet (13in x 18in.), followed by a layer of plum filling.
- Spread the remainder of the crumble over the plum filling.
- Bake the plum crumble at 350°F for about 40 minutes or until golden brown.
It was delicious. I did
add 2 tsp of vanilla to the crumble.
Hi Wendy, Vanilla is always a good idea! Glad you enjoyed it!
I have a large food processor but the dry ingredients wouldn't fit in it. Also, 5 cups of flour seems like too much. There is no liquid in the flour mixture except for the two eggs, and there is very little sugar in with the flour, so it was too crumbly, even after baking (not cakey). Maybe I should have used more plums, but I used as much as the recipe called for. I will definitely need to add a sugary icing (as mentioned in a previous comment) and serve with ice cream. Thank heavens these can be frozen ... it makes enough for a crowd.
I agree! Very very very dry. I’m so disappointed that I spent so much time making this to get this result. The plum filling is delicious. But the crumble amount either needs to be cut in half, or the butter doubled, or some additional moisture like milk added. The eggs were no help at all. I even came back here to make sure I hadn’t missed something but I followed the recipe to a T. I’m not sure where to go from here, with this hard, dry crust both above and below the delicious plum filling. I won’t be pinning this one.
I agree. Very dry. Seems like a lot of flour and not enough butter and sugar compared to other crumble recipes I've seen. I thought maybe I converted the measurements wrong to grams. But no.
Hi Ditte, Thanks for sharing your insight. I'm sorry to hear you think it's too dry. I hope you find a recipe that suits your preferences.
Hi Terri, the ripeness of the plums can also be a factor. When they bake they release juices that seep into the crumble as well and their ripeness adds sweetness too. Thank you for giving the recipe a try, I hope you enjoyed it with the icing on top!
Wondering if you can help me.... I made this recipe as per recipe & it looks beautiful, but unfortunately our plums must be extra sour & it is really mouth puckering 🙁 Do you have any suggestions how I can fix this now it is cooked & made. Was hoping to have it when visitors come over!
Hi Sez, what if you drizzled it with some sugar glaze to give it sweetness? Let me know if this works.
Thanks Natalya, that worked perfectly, I made a simple sugar glaze or icing sugar, milk & vanilla essence and drizzled that over. And served with icecream & Cream to balance it all out - delicious!. About to make another one & this time I'll take the plums before cooking to make sure they aren't too tart!
Hi Sez, I am thrilled to hear that you love the recipe! Thank you for sharing your process! Enjoy!
A Brit here! I made this last night in a roasting tin as it was the closest I had to 13 x 15 inches, and it is amazing. I usually do a layer of fruit then a crumble top without the eggs, but this recipe just works perfectly.
Hey Lucy- thank you for the feedback! I' so glad you enjoyed it 😀
Who has an 18x22 baking dish! And who actually fit all of the “crumble” ingredients int Their food processor?!? Minimal, actual steps for putting it together too. Sheesh
Hi Michelle- thank you for catching that; it's supposed to say "13x18 inches" for the baking dish/sheet. This is the standard size most people have at home. As for fitting the ingredients into the food processor- it really depends on the size of your processor. If your food processor is smaller, I recommend splitting the crumble ingredients in half and making the crumble in two batches. I hope this helps. Enjoy! 🙂
I didn't see any reason to have 2 layers of crumble, so I cut the crumble ingredients in half and just topped the plums with 1 layer. I also eliminated the eggs as my family is vegan and replaced the butter with Earth Balance.
Ellen Nathan
Sacramento
Hi Ellen- I'm happy that you made this recipe work for your families dietary needs and modified the crumble topping to your liking. Thank you for commenting 🙂
Is the lemon juice just for flavor or does it serve another purpose? My plums are pretty tart (though delicious!) so I was considering if I should skip the lemon juice.
Hi Kate- it's for flavor, to provide some balance to the plums as they'll get a bit sweeter as they bake. Enjoy! 🙂
Can I substitute plums for something else?
Hey Marina, yes, you can use cherries or peaches. Hope you love it.
I want make it but vegan friendly way!
Please let me know how that goes, I am sure that would be super helpful for other readers!
I’m going to try to make 1/3 of this batch, as I only have 5 plums. Hopefully It comes out as good as yours looks!!
Hi,
Let me know how it goes, I'd love to hear back 😊
I love these bars! Plum is such an unexpected flavor and it is scrumptious!
So glad you enjoyed the recipe, thank you for your feedback!
Oh my goodness, these bars look amazing!! I would love one right now!
Thank you!!
Love the wonderful texture and buttery flavor! This recipe is a treat when plums are in season.
Glad you enjoyed the recipe, Erin!