Mary Berry’s apple and plum crumble is ripe red plums and Bramley apples, poached with cinnamon sticks, then baked under a buttery semolina crumble with a crisp demerara top. It serves 6, and takes about an hour, with 40 minutes in the oven.
The recipe comes from Mary Berry Cooks the Perfect (2014), where she calls it Plum and Apple Crumble with a Super-crunchy Topping. The topping is her shortbread mix: “My shortbread mix makes a buttery crumble topping with extra crunch.” Semolina replaces a third of the flour, and that’s what gives it the crisp bite.
The step most crumbles skip is poaching the fruit first. Berry simmers the plums and apples with cinnamon for about 10 minutes before they go in the dish, because “poaching the fruits… makes a particularly juicy crumble.” The apples start to break down, and that thickens the juices naturally.
Mary Berry Apple and Plum Crumble Recipe
Course: DessertCuisine: BritishDifficulty: Easy6
servings20
minutes50
minutes435
kcal1
hour10
minutesAn autumn pudding from Cooks the Perfect (2014), pairing sweet Victoria plums with tart Bramleys under a shortbread-style crust. The fruit is part-cooked on the hob first, so the bake is just about browning the topping and bubbling the juices.
Ingredients
- For the fruit:
750g (1lb 10oz) ripe red plums
2 large cooking apples, about 500g (1lb 2oz) in total
75g (2½oz) caster sugar
fresh cream, to serve
- For the topping:
150g (5½oz) plain flour
75g (2½oz) semolina
100g (3½oz) cold butter, cut into cubes
60g (2oz) caster sugar
2 tbsp demerara sugar
Directions
- Poach the fruit: Preheat the oven to 180°C (160°C fan/350°F/Gas 4). Halve and stone the plums, then quarter, peel, core and thickly slice the apples. Put the fruit in a large, wide pan with the cinnamon sticks, caster sugar and 2 tablespoons of water. Bring to a simmer over a medium heat, stirring gently, then cover and poach for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Fill the dish: Remove the cinnamon sticks. Tip the poached fruit into the baking dish and spread it out evenly.
- Make the topping: Put the flour and semolina in a bowl, add the butter and rub it in until the mixture looks like breadcrumbs. Mix in the caster sugar. Spoon the topping over the fruit, then sprinkle the demerara sugar evenly over the top.
- Bake: Bake for 40 minutes, until the topping is golden and the fruit juices are bubbling up around the edges. Leave to settle for 5 to 10 minutes before serving with fresh cream.
FAQs
Why add semolina to a crumble topping?
Berry says using semolina at half the weight of the flour “is a simple way to add texture and crunch.” The grains stay slightly gritty as they bake, which gives the topping a shortbread-like snap instead of a soft, floury one. If you’ve only made all-flour crumble, the difference is noticeable straight away.
Why add the sugar after rubbing in the butter?
Berry is firm: “always add the sugar after working in the butter.” If it goes in first, it draws moisture out of the butter and “the mixture will become too sticky to handle.” Keep the butter and your fingertips cold, too, and stop at a breadcrumb texture, because rubbing it too fine makes the topping “stodgy.”
Can I skip poaching the fruit?
Yes. Berry says “if preparation time is short, you can assemble the crumble without poaching the fruit and bake it for 10 minutes longer.” It’s still very good, but slightly less juicy, because the apples don’t break down as much. I’d poach if you have the time.
Which plums and apples work best?
Berry’s favourites are Victoria plums, for “their lovely red colour and sweet juiciness,” and Bramleys, which “soften down beautifully” and are “just tart enough to balance the sweetness.” Using both gives a sweet and sharp mix in every spoonful. If you’d like to try the fruits on their own, there’s her plum crumble and her blackberry and apple crumble.
How do I stop the topping going soggy?
Cover all the fruit with topping, especially around the edges, Berry says. A little juice bubbling up at the sides is good, but “too much juice will overflow and make the topping soggy.” Leaving it to settle for 5 to 10 minutes after baking also lets the juices thicken before you serve.
What else could I make with autumn apples?
For another warm baked pudding with a softer, scone-like topping, try her apple and blackberry cobbler. Her Devonshire apple cake is a good one to serve warm with cream instead of a crumble.
