Autumn is well and truly here and with that comes the time for crumble. This recipe sees deep jewelled magenta plums spiked with sloe gin, bubbling through a golden knobbly, textured crumble that is laced with toasted oats and hazelnuts
I know everyone thinks of crumble as an easy, ordinary dish but I think with the few extra tweaks here it becomes something amazing. Sloe gin and hazelnuts are a marriage made in heaven. The two types of sugar really add to the depth and texture of the crumble and the toasty flavour you get from the oats and demerara sprinkled on top are worth it for the smell alone I add, perhaps surprisingly, a few leaves of fresh thyme to the crumble mix which just work in a way you just can’t place This recipe really is the embodiment of the “mellow fruitfulness” in Keats’ ode To Autumn