Name: Spiced plum & blackberry crumble
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 1 h 30 min
Total time: 1 h 50 min
Yield: 6
Cuisine: British
Ingredients: 140g plain flour; 140g butter cut into small dice; 85g soft brown sugar; 50g porridge oat; custard to serve; 1kg plums (about 14), halved and stoned; 1 tbsp soft brown sugar; 1 tbsp plain flour; 2 star anise; 1 tsp ground cinnamon; 1 tsp vanilla extract; juice ½ lemon; 300g blackberry

140g plain flour
140g butter
cut into small dice
85g soft brown sugar
50g porridge oat
custard
to serve

For the fruit

1kg plums
(about 14), halved and stoned
1 tbsp soft brown sugar
1 tbsp plain flour
2 star anise
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla extract
juice ½ lemon
300g blackberry

Method

step 1
First, make the crumble topping. Put the flour and butter in a food processor and pulse to the texture of wet sand. Tip into a bowl and add the sugar and oats. Sprinkle the mixture with 2 tbsp cold water, then use a fork to mix everything together, creating a crumbly texture with a few large clumps. Chill until needed.
step 2
Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Tip all the fruit ingredients, except the blackberries, into a large ovenproof dish. Add 50ml water, cover with foil and bake for 1 hr. Remove the foil and discard star anise. Add the blackberries to the dish, sprinkle over the crumble mixture and return to the oven for a further 25-30 mins until the top is golden. Serve hot with custard.