Rhubarb and Plum Crumble with Custard Cream

As plum season kicks in and rhubarb season comes to an end; I had to make this before all the rhubarb disappears because this is one of my favourite fruit combos.

The juicy plums and the tangy rhubarb filling are elevated by hints of orange zest and cinnamon. It’s then topped with a golden, cinnamon crumble that’s buttery and crispy. And of course, a crumble is never complete without a creamy vanilla custard to tie the whole dessert together. The best part is that the plum and rhubarb combo gives you the prettiest pink dessert!

Click HERE to watch the full video recipe!

You Need One 15cm/6″ Pie Dish or Casserole Dish

INGREDIENTS:

THE CRUMBLE-

• 80g Plain/AP Flour
• 20g Rolled Oats
• 60g Caster/Granulated Sugar
• 1tsp Ground Cinnamon
• Pinch of Ground Cloves
• Pinch of Ground Nutmeg
• 60g Salted Butter, cubed and cold

THE RHUBARB AND PLUM-

• 2 Rhubarbs
• 5 Plums
• 2tbsp Caster/Granulated Sugar
• 1tbsp Light Brown Sugar
• Sprinkle of Cinnamon
• 1tsp Cornstarch/Cornflour
• 1 Orange

THE CUSTARD CREAM-

• 2 Egg Yolks
• 45g Caster/Granulated Sugar
• 15g Cornstarch/Cornflour
• 160ml Milk
• 2tsp Vanilla Bean Paste
• 10g Salted Butter
• 70ml Double/Heavy Cream

STEPS:

1. Pre-heat oven to 180°C

THE CRUMBLE-

1. In a large bowl, combine flour, oats, sugar, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg
2. Add the cold cubed butter and rub it into the dry ingredients with your fingers until the mixture turns into a crumb texture
3. Place it into the fridge so it stays cold

THE RHUBARB AND PLUM-

1. Wash and pat dry the rhubarb and plum
2. Cut the rhubarb into cubes and quater the plums (remove the seeds). Add them to the pie dish
3. Add the sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, and cornstrach/ cornflour
4. Using a mircroplane, zest the entire orange and add it to the fruits. Then cut a 1/5 wedge of the orange and squeeze in it’s juices
5. Give everything a toss until the fruits are evenly coated in that sugary syrup
6. Evenly distribute the fruit in the pie dish
7. Grab the cold crumble from the fridge and sprinkle it all over the fruit until it is fully covered
8. Pop it into the oven at 180°C for 20min, then turn the temp up to 200°C for 5-10min so the crumble can get extra golden and crispy.
9. Let it cool so the crumble can crisp up before you dig in!

THE CUSTARD CREAM-

1. In a bowl, whisk together egg yolks, sugar, and cornstarch/cornflour.
2. In a saucepan, combine milk and vanilla bean paste. Bring the mixture to a simmer
3. Pour 1/4 of the hot milk into the egg yolk mixture while stirring. Once it’s well combined, pour the egg mixture back into the saucepan with the rest of the milk
4. Transfer it to a stove on medium heat, making sure you are constantly stirring the mixture. As it cooks, the mixture will thicken into a custard. Once it reaches that thick and jiggly consistency remove it from the heat
5. Strain it through a sieve to remove any clumps
6. Add the butter and mix. The residual heat will melt the butter into the custard
7. Cover it with clingfilm pressed against the surface of the custard and place it into the fridge to cool
8. Hand whisk the double/heavy cream in a large bowl until it reaches soft peaks. Add the cold custard and whisk until well combined.
9. Transfer it to an airtight container and keep it in the fridge

SERVE-

1. Scoop up some crumble onto a plate and top it with some cold custard and enjoy!