Plum Slump

Plum Slump

One of our suppliers wrote the other day after she’d been trying to arrange a shipment…trucking lanes are clogged as the tariffs disrupt all channels…“these are strange times…but we try to stay positive” Our locale certainly makes it easier. The apples are ready! And we are not even done with blueberries, plums and peaches! Aside from the joy of fresh ripe fruit is the satisfaction of baking it into a pie….. Pie Crust got you down? Last week I made a Plum Slump! Mixing the fruit with the proper sweet mix and having an easy delicious topping makes you forget about crust altogether. Here is my recipe for streusel and a word of caution…it’s the best. Mix together 2 cups all purpose flour with 2/3 cup of sugar and 1 t. cinnamon. Spread it on a marble work surface and cut in ½ pound of salted butter. From there you can spread it into sheets with a French rolling pin and toss it together, spreading it again and using you fingers to crumble it. Or you can put the mix in a food processor and pulse until you have a texture you like. I think doing it by hand makes it more interesting! Fruit? Well here are the secrets of the bakery… For 2# apples: Mix 1/2c brown sugar, 1/4c white sugar, 1/4c flour and 1t. cinnamon For 3# of Peaches: Mix 1c. sugar, 6T cornstarch and add 1T of lemon rind, 1/4t grated fresh nutmeg For 4c. Blueberries: 2/3c sugar, 1/4c cornstarch,2t lemon juice, 1t. lemon rind For 4c Plums: 3/4c. sugar, 3T flour, a pinch of salt, 6 drops of almond extract Combine the fruit and dry mixture. Put in an earthenware crock or soufflé dish and top with the streusel. Bake at 425 for 15 minutes and then reduce the temperature to 350 until the juices thicken. Enjoy! Michèle & Co.