This easy spiced apple and plum crumble recipe is a classic autumn dessert, combining sweet plums and sharp cooking apples beneath a crisp, buttery crumble topping. Comforting, seasonal and simple to make, it's perfect served warm with custard, cream or ice cream.
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A Quick Look At The Recipe
✅ Recipe Name: Spiced Apple and Plum Crumble
🕒 Ready In: 1 hour
👪 Serves: 6
🍽 Calories: 375 calories per serving
🥣 Main Ingredients: Plums, Bramley Apples, Plain Flour, Butter, Ground Almonds, Demerara Sugar
📖 Dietary Info: Vegetarian
👌 Difficulty: Easy
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One of my favourite things about autumn is the abundance of orchard fruits - the perfect excuse to make this comforting spiced plum crumble.
Love plums? Don't forget to check out my easy stewed plums recipe!
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✔️ Why should you try it?
- A warming, fruity pudding the whole family will love
- Freezer-friendly and ideal for batch cooking
- A great way to use up windfall apples and homegrown plums
- Perfect for cosy autumn desserts
🥘 Ingredients
A full ingredients list along with Metric and US Customary measurements, can be found in the recipe card at the end of this post.
Plums - use ripe cooking plums, such as Victoria plums, for the juiciest flavour.
Stewed apples - my cinnamon-spiced stewed apples work beautifully, or use 2 peeled and chopped cooking apples with ½ teaspoon cinnamon if you don't have stewed apples.
Demerara sugar - adds a rich, caramel-like sweetness to the fruit.
Cornflour - helps thicken the juices released during baking.
For the crumble topping:
Plain flour - forms the base of the crumble topping; no raising agents are needed.
Unsalted butter - cold and cubed to create a light, crisp topping.
Demerara sugar (topping) - gives the crumble a golden, caramel crunch.
Ground almonds - adds subtle nutty flavour that complements the plums.
Need to substitute an ingredient?
Have an allergy or dietary preference? Let AI customise the recipe for you.
📖 Variations
- Swap stewed apples for fresh peeled Bramleys with a touch of cinnamon and extra sugar.
- Add a handful of chopped walnuts or flaked almonds to the crumble topping for a nutty crunch.
- Mix rolled oats or ground almonds into the topping for extra texture.
- Try swapping plums for pears, blackberries or mixed berries for a different flavour.
- Sprinkle a pinch of nutmeg or mixed spice into the fruit for warming autumn notes.
🔪 Instructions
The recipe card with ingredient quantities and detailed instructions can be found at the bottom of the post
Prep: Preheat the oven to 200°C (180 °fan/ 400°F/ Gas 6)
One: Stone and chop the plums and place them in a large baking dish.
Two: Stir in stewed apples (or fresh Bramleys), demerara sugar, and cornflour until well combined.
Three: Make the crumble topping by pulsing flour, butter, sugar, and almonds until breadcrumb-like, or rub together by hand.
Four: Sprinkle the topping over the fruit and bake for 50 minutes until golden and bubbling.
Top Tips
- Use cold butter for the topping: Cold, cubed butter helps create a light, crisp crumble rather than a dense layer.
- Handle the topping gently: Mix just until the crumble resembles coarse crumbs - overworking it can make it tough.
- Adjust sugar to taste: Balance sweetness depending on how tart your apples and plums are.
- Scatter, don't press: Sprinkle the crumble loosely over the fruit to keep it crisp and airy.
- Add texture and flavour: Mix in oats, chopped nuts, or ground almonds for extra crunch and richness.
- Check baking carefully: Bake until the fruit is bubbling and the topping is golden; if it browns too quickly, cover loosely with foil.
🍴 Serving suggestions
Serve the crumble with creamy custard, homemade no churn honeycomb ice-cream or thick Cornish clotted cream.
It's also delicious for breakfast with a dollop of Greek yogurt!
Storage
Store - keep the crumble covered in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Freeze - assemble unbaked crumble in a freezer-safe dish and freeze for up to 3 months; bake from frozen, adding a few extra minutes to the cooking time.
❓ Frequently asked questions
Peel cooking apples for the best texture, but plum skins are soft and can be left on if you prefer.
Firm cooking apples, such as Bramleys, give a lovely texture, while ripe plums add colour and natural sweetness. If your fruit is particularly tart, a little extra sugar will help balance the flavours.
Yes - thaw frozen plums first and pat them dry before mixing with the apples to prevent excess juice.
Troubleshooting Guide
| Problem | Fix |
|---|---|
| Topping is soggy or heavy | Use cold butter and mix lightly to make the crumble. Scatter loosely over the fruit rather than pressing it down. |
| Fruit is too watery | Add a little extra cornflour to the fruit before baking, or drain excess juice from very juicy plums. |
| Crumble topping browns too quickly | Tent the crumble loosely with foil for the last 10-15 minutes of baking to prevent burning while the fruit finishes cooking. |
| Fruit is too tart | Sprinkle extra sugar over the fruit before adding the crumble, or use naturally sweeter apples or plums |
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Recipe
Spiced Apple and Plum Crumble
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Ingredients
- 600 g Plums stoned and chopped
- 200 g Stewed Apples or use 2 Bramley apples (sliced), ½ teaspoon cinnamon and increase sugar to 3 tbsp
- 2 tablespoon Demerara Sugar
- 1 tablespoon Cornflour
For the crumble topping
- 200 g Plain Flour
- 100 g Butter
- 100 g Demerara Sugar
- 25 g Ground Almonds
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200°C (180 °fan/ 400°F/ Gas 6).
- Place the chopped plums in a pie dish (about 30cm diameter) and stir in the stewed apple, demerara sugar and cornflour. If you are using fresh Bramley apples instead of the stewed apple, also add ½ teaspoon cinnamon and increase the sugar quantity from 2 tablespoon to 3 tbsp.600 g Plums, 200 g Stewed Apples, 2 tablespoon Demerara Sugar, 1 tablespoon Cornflour
- Make the crumble topping by placing all of the ingredients in the food processor and pulsing until you get course breadcrumbs. Alternatively, rub the butter into the flour by hand and stir though the demerara sugar and ground almonds.200 g Plain Flour, 100 g Butter, 100 g Demerara Sugar, 25 g Ground Almonds
- Sprinkle the crumble topping over the fruit mixture and bake in the oven for 50 minutes. If you find the crumble topping is becoming too brown, cover with foil for the final part of cooking.
Notes
- Use cold butter and mix lightly for a light, crisp crumble topping.
- Adjust sugar depending on how tart your fruit is for balanced flavour.
- Serve warm with custard, cream, or ice cream.
Cat says
What a delicious way of using seasonal British fruit. I would absolutely cover mine in double cream. My mouth is watering!
Chloe Edges says
So many recipes give such a poor ratio of fruit to crumble but I am totally on board with this one - loads of delicious crumble. Because we all know that's the best bit!!!
Beth says
Yummy! This looks so delicious and tasty! My family is going to love this recipe!
Katherine says
Such a tasty way to use late summer's best fruit!
Pam says
We're off to pick apples this weekend, so I'm going to save this recipe for then!
Kylie says
Dollop cream and this....equals heaven.
Sandhya's Kitchen says
We are a huge fan of apple crumble!! Loving the addition of plum in this recipe. Thank you for this brilliant idea - we are going to try it soon.
Helen @ family-friends-food.com says
I'm so happy that we're into "crumble season"!
This one looks delicious 🙂
Nart at Cooking with Nart says
I'm a big fan of apple crumble and I have to say the addition of plums makes it even better!
veenaazmanov says
Delicious and would love to enjoy it with my favorite Ice Cream. Perfect treat for my family this weekend. Yum
Jillian says
Serve this with a scoop of ice cream and it is Heaven in a bowl!