Plum Crumble with a Hit of Chilli Honey

Tags

baking, chilli, cream, crumble, dessert, fruit, Gran Luchito, honey, oats, plum

Intrigued by the title? I’ll get right to the point. One of the best things I tried at the FBC5 food blogger conference was the Gran Luchito Smoked Chilli Honey. I spent quite some time skulking around the Gran Luchito food stand during the breaks, trying to look inconspicuous while eyeing the crackers and cheese, ready to pounce as soon as there was a tiny bit of space among the crowds. I would grab a chunk of cheese, pop it on a cracker, and smother the whole thing with the smoked chilli honey. Then I’d walk away, wait 3 minutes and go back, hoping the lovely girl at the stand had forgotten me. I’m sure she must have been rolling her eyes every time!

May I just say at this point that this is not a sponsored post or anything. I just loved that stuff. It’s made with a special type of rare Mexican chillies. Now, it is actually possible to order it on Amazon, but the postage to Greece for one jar is more than what I paid for a big box with an electrical appliance in it a couple of weeks ago. So, having been lucky enough to snap up a sample of the Smoked Chilli Paste (the base for the honey and the gorgeous Gran Luchito Mayo) I decided to improvise and made my own. It was not the same, but it was still very good. Greek honey is top quality and the paste packs so much amazing smoky flavour that the result was far from disappointing. Ever since trying it in London, I’ve been thinking I would like to add it to a dessert. Don’t ask why, it just stuck in my mind. When I recently found myself with a batch of wonderfully ripe and juicy plums, I had one of those light bulb moments. Macerate them in this honey, cover them with a dark sugar and oat crumble, and bake. It just sounded so right. And it was. So so right. Every once in a while I have some bloody good ideas – if I may say so myself!

In case you are worried, this is not spicy hot. You can’t really tell there is chilli in it. But it gives the fruit a depth and warmth that is hard to explain (wow, depth and warmth… I’m becoming a real food writer… I’ll be saying the flavour “pops” next). But seriously, depth and warmth are the closest I can get to helping you imagine its awesomeness (aaand the writer has left the building).

Ingredients

For the fruity bit

60g clear runny honey (sorry, I forgot to measure in Tbs – I think that’s about 2?)
1/8 tsp Gran Luchito Smoked Chilli Paste
500g (7 smallish) ripe plums, cut into quarters
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1 Tbs all purpose flour

For the crumbly bit

½ cup (8 Tbs) rolled oats
4 Tbs dark muscovado sugar
4 Tbs white granulated sugar
5 Tbs all purpose flour
1/8 tsp salt
4 Tbs cold butter, cut into cubes

Instructions

1. Mix the honey and chilli paste in a medium sized bowl and heat in the microwave for 15 seconds or so, just so it liquefies a little.
2. Toss the plum pieces in the honey so they are all coated and set aside for half an hour or so to macerate, mixing once in a while.
3. Preheat oven to 180C (or 160C on fan).
4. In another bowl mix the dry crumble ingredients, then add the butter and rub with your fingers till the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
5. Add the nutmeg and flour to the plums, and mix well. Pour into a pie dish or pyrex dish, and sprinkle the crumble mixture over the top.
6. Bake for approx. 30 minutes, till the top looks crispy and the fruit is bubbling up the sides of the dish.
7. Serve with cream. Or try mixing a little bit of single cream into a tub of mascarpone and using that. You’ll like it (unless there is something seriously wrong with you – sorry).

Note: Obviously if you are lucky enough to get your hands on some Gran Luchito Smoked Chilli Honey, you can use that instead of making your own. Or you can just send it to me, I don’t mind.

Other wonderful looking plum crumbly things
Plum Crumble by Orangette (it has ginger in it!)
Plum Crumble Bars by The Cilantropist
Hazelnut Plum Crumb Tart by Smitten Kitchen

Upside Down Plum Cake – A Tasty Surprise

Tags

baking, cake, plum, upside down

I had a natter about this recipe over on my Greek pages yesterday. The gist of the story is that after a friend of mine noshed through about a quarter of this cake in one sitting, I concluded it was a winner. The day I made it I had several very ripe plums in the fridge begging to be consumed a.s.a.p., but although I was in the mood for baking I didn’t have much time. So I scrolled down my (long) list of bookmarked favourites and saw this recipe from Real Simple. It was just right, not too many ingredients, not too much faffing around (well, a bit of faffing with chopping and in some cases peeling plums); it looked like a good option.

I used the sweet round plums rather that the Damson variety (the smaller, egg shaped ones), but any type would work I think. Some of them were really soft and a bit gooey, they were so overripe. Not at all deterred I just cut those in half, scooped out the soft flesh and threw some of the skins away in case they got too chewy. For this reason I used a few more plums than the recipe says, so I could completely cover the base of the pan. Also for this reason my pictures look nothing like the magazine’s!

The result was lovely. A beautifully light cake, with a tasty layer of tangy sweetness on top. You can easily eat through half this cake without feeling caked-out. Perfect to enjoy with a cup of tea or coffee. Try it!

Antique silver Russian spoon from the early 20th century. With many thanks to The Collector.

Upside Down Plum Cake

Ingredients

1/2 cup (110g) + 1 Tbs butter (+ a bit more for greasing pan)
5-7 ripe but firm plums (it’s a good idea to have a couple extra on hand)
1/4 cup + 2/3 cup sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 large egg
2/3 cup buttermilk
1 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 180C. Butter an 8 or 9 inch cake pan and line it with grease proof paper. If you’re using a springform pan cut the paper into a slightly larger circle so it goes up the sides a little. There will be juices and syrup at the bottom of the pan which might leak. Trust me.
2. Stone the plums and cut each one into 8 wedges. If you have some mushy ones just pinch the skin (it should fall off) and put the gooey bits to one side.
3. Melt the one tablespoon of butter in a frying pan over medium-high heat, add the plum pieces and 1/4 cup sugar, and cook till the sugar melts and the juices turn to syrup, stirring and tossing frequently. This should take about 3-4 minutes, maybe longer. Add the mushy bits towards the end, so they can soak up some of the sweetness from the syrup.
4. Put the plum pieces into the cake pan, shaping them into concentric circles (a new word for me that – hey, I did know the Greek one). Pour the juice from the pan over the top.
5. Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a small bowl. Use a whisk to mix them up (this is a great way to avoid sifting, which is a pain). Set aside.
6. In a medium sized bowl, beat the 1/2 cup butter with the 2/3 cup sugar until light and fluffy, at least 3-5 minutes. Beat in the egg, buttermilk and vanilla. Add the flour mixture and keep beating (on low!) but only until it’s mixed in, don’t overbeat it. There shouldn’t be any floury bits.
7. Pour the batter over the plums. Now, it may seem like there’s very little batter, or that it’s too thick. It certainly did to me. It’s at this point that I thought it was going to be a disaster. Luckily I didn’t chuck it all in the bin; I just gently spread the batter out with a spatula so that it reached the sides of the pan. Be careful you don’t disturb the plums underneath.
8. Bake until a cake tester, aka toothpick, comes out clean, about 50-55 minutes. If it starts browning early, cover it with a piece of tin foil (mine did).
9. Leave the cake to cool in the pan for about an hour. Cover the pan with a large plate and flip over so that the cake falls on the plate with the plum side up. Gently peel off the grease proof paper and admire your work!
10. Quickly make a cuppa and sample a piece. Just so you know whether you’re going to share it.

Other interesting cakes with fruit (and one veg!)
Peach Cobbler Upside Down Cake, by Apron Strings Blog
Crackly Banana Bread, by Smitten Kitchen
The Perfect Apple Cake, a Community Pick on Food52
Pineapple Upside-Down Cake, by Susan Branch
Sweet Zucchini Bread, by On Top Of Spaghetti (that’s me!)