Plum and Ginger Crumble

My mother sent the Robber home from his trip to Utah with some plums from their backyard tree and, having just made him plum pie, had to go adventuring to find what to make next with the plums. I remembered this delicious crumble which my sister R had made in the Rochacha long ago. It is simpler to make than a pie-- quite simple, actually-- but still can be made in a pie plate and it ultimately very satisfactory. I am loving loving plums this year, something about the bright color and tartness of the flavor are making me very happy indeed.

This recipe is actually an adaptation of one of the NYtimes most famous recipes of all time, the plum torte recipe which I recorded on this blog earlier (search under plums) but have never actually made because really, given the choice, wouldn't you rather have a crumble? 

An old link, but a good link:

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/21/dining/213frex.html

Ingredients:

12 Italian prune plums, halved and pitted

2 T. brown sugar 

1 1/2 T. plus 1 C. all-purpose flour

1 heaping tsp. cinnamon 

1/4 heaping tsp. ground ginger

2 heaping T. finely chopped candied ginger (I used crystallized)

3/4 C. sugar

1 tsp. baking powder

1 large egg, well-beaten

1 stick butter (1/2 C.), melted

Vanilla ice cream, optional

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Place plums in bowl. Mix brown sugar, 1 1/2 T flour, 1/4 tsp cinnamon, ground ginger, and candied ginger together and mix with plums. Arrange plums, skin side up, in ungreased 9 inch pie plate.

3. Combine white sugar, baking powder, remaining flour, and remaining cinnamon and salt and mix well. Stir in egg. Rub together with fingertips to combine ingredients and make a crumbly mixture. Sprinkle over plums. Drizzle butter evenly over top.

4. Bake 30 to 35 minutes. Serve warm, plain or with vanilla ice cream.