The last plums of the season, episode II

We don't need to be prodded too much to celebrate something around here, so I was happy to oblige when Brad gave himself the best kind of belated birthday present this morning by busting out another huge PR at Great Meadow (where Dylan ended his illustrious high school cross country career by running his own PR). When I texted Brad's time to Dylan, Dylan responded "Holy shit! What a race." Well said, college boy.

Every celebration needs a dessert. Luckily, I just happened to have picked up some Italian prune plums at the City Market before Brad ran. Two years ago, I wrote about Marrian Burros's famous Plum Torte (the most requested recipe in the history of the New York Times), which I make several times every year during the short season for Italian prune plums. Recently, I was surprised to discover that Burros created a sequel to the Plum Torte, in the form of a Plum Crumble, the recipe for which was published 22 years to the day after the Plum Torte article. The ingredients are actually very similar, except for the notable addition of ginger, in two forms, to the Plum Crumble. But the results are very different. Where the Plum Torte is light and airy, the Plum Crumble has a hard shell, like a crispy cookie, with a gingery plum jam beneath.

So, does a sequel ever live up to the original? Not too often. The Empire Strikes Back, Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan, maybe a few others, but not many. Usually, you end up with Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest. But in this case, the Plum Crumble is just as fabulous as the Plum Torte. I am happy to add this to my Italian plum repertoire, though, like the Plum Torte, it should also work well with other kinds of fruit.

Plums in situ

Topping

The finished product, while it lasted

Italian Plum Crumble

Adapted from Marrion Burros via The New York Times

Plums
2 tablespoons (25 grams) brown sugar
2 tablespoons (15 grams) finely chopped candied (crystallized) ginger 
1½ tablespoons (11 grams) all-purpose flour
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground ginger 
12 Italian prune plums, cut in half along the crease and pitted 

Topping
1 cup (120 grams) all-purpose flour
¾ cup (150 grams) granulated sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder 
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon salt 
1 egg (~57 grams in the shell), well beaten 
½ cup (1 stick/113 grams) unsalted butter

    1. Place a rack in the center of the oven, and heat to 375 degrees. Rub the end of the stick of butter gently around the bottom and sides of a 9- or 9½-inch deep dish pie plate to grease it ever so lightly. Melt the rest of the butter, and set aside.
    2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the brown sugar, candied ginger, 1½ tablespoons flour, ¼ teaspoon cinnamon, and ground ginger. Add the plums and mix well. Arrange the plums skin side up in the pie plate. Sprinkle whatever is left in the bowl evenly around the plums (see first photo above). 
    3. In the now-empty bowl, whisk together the 1 cup flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, ½ teaspoon cinnamon, and salt. Stir in the beaten egg with a fork. Use your hands to mix everything together thoroughly till it looks like large bread crumbs (see the second photo above). Sprinkle the mixture evenly over the plums.
    4. Spoon or drizzle the melted butter evenly over the crumb mixture. Bake until the top is well browned and the plums yield easily when pricked with a toothpick, about 30 minutes. Remove to a wire rack.
    5. Serve warm or at room temperature or refrigerate for up to 2 days. If reheating, bring to room temperature, then warm briefly at 300 degrees. Serves 6 to 8 (normal people).