If you love dessert, this perfect plum crisp with spiced oat topping is going to turn your world upside down! Juicy stone fruit is covered with a chewy crust to create the most mouthwatering treat ever.
Alright, let's get baking already!
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📖 About
Mitch's mom has a massive plum tree in her backyard, which was absolutely drooping with fruit at the end of this summer. So, we ended up picking five huge bags full (yes, you heard that right).
What does one do with that many plums?
Make a perfect plum crisp of course! Plums are a proud member of the underrated fruit club and deserve some much needed time in the spotlight (at least in our humble opinions).
They’re inexpensive (or free if you have access to a plum tree) and turn an insanely gorgeous purple color after being cooked. Not only that, if you serve this plum crisp warm with some vegan ice cream, it creates an ooey-gooey masterpiece.
The comforting spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves make this an ideal dessert for fall. But it's not too heavy, so go ahead and eat it for breakfast! Have we convinced you this dessert is the bomb yet?
🍲 Key ingredients
- Plums: we personally use Italian plums in our crisp because that's the type of plum tree we have access to. But, any type of plum will do! After they bake, this fruit turns an incredibly beautiful purple hue. That's because of the skins, which contain powerful antioxidants beneficial to our health.
- Rolled oats: for the chewiest crust, rolled oats are where it's at! They're the perfect addition to provide texture and nutty flavor. We definitely recommend the rolled variety over steel-cut or quick oats. Did you know rolled oats contain antioxidants, called avenanthramides, that may help lower your blood pressure? Wowza.
- Sugar: to create both a crunchy topping and caramelized plum filling, sugar is key. We use cane sugar in the filling to avoid overpowering the plums, but brown or coconut sugar in the crust to give a rich, toasty flavor.
- Cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg: nothing screams cozy autumn dessert more than this combo of spices. It's the easiest way to transition a dish from summer to fall. Plus, all three of these come with their own set of health benefits (basically, this dessert is good for you).
🔪 Instructions
To begin, preheat your oven to 350 degrees F and grab out a baking dish. We use a 13×9 casserole dish, but if you want a thicker crisp feel free to use a smaller one.
Then, pit and slice your plums. Toss them together with the flour and cane sugar in a mixing bowl. Once you've transferred the filling to your baking dish, it's time to make the crust!
For the topping, start by making a flax egg in a small bowl. In another mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, rolled oats, brown sugar, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and almonds. And in a third bowl, melt the vegan butter and whisk in the vanilla.
Pour the butter, vanilla, and flax egg into the dry ingredient bowl and stir until everything is incorporated (it should look crumbly at this point). Next, use your hands to disperse the topping evenly over the layer of plums. Bake your crisp until the topping turns a golden brown.
Remove your gorgeous plum crisp from the oven and let it cool at room temperature for about 15-20 minutes (you'll need to be extremely strong-willed for this step). Serve with a dollop of vegan vanilla bean ice cream for a mouthwatering treat.
🌡️ Storage
This crisp tastes best when eaten the same day. But if you have leftovers, keep them lightly covered with saran wrap in the fridge for 2-3 days. If you plan on eating this within 1 day, then you can leave it uncovered at room temperature.
Reheat the cobbler in your oven at 350 degrees F for 10-15 minutes before serving again. Note: make sure to let the leftovers cool completely before you cover them.
💭 Budget tips
We think everyone should be able to eat better for less, so here are a few tricks to make this recipe even more affordable:
- Switch out the vegan butter for coconut oil
- Don't add in the almonds
- Use artificial vanilla or a cheaper brand of real vanilla extract
- Opt for brown over coconut sugar since it's usually cheaper
🍴 Tasting notes
This is the perfect dessert to serve at at your next family dinner this fall. Its:
- Juicy
- Comforting
- Fall-spiced
- Crunchy
If you try this crisp, please rate it and leave us a comment below! Want to stay up-to-date with new recipes? Subscribe to our newsletter or connect with Broke Bank Vegan on social media. Happy eating!
📋 Recipe
Plum Crisp With Spiced Oat Topping
Equipment
- Casserole dish
- Small and large mixing bowl
- Whisk
Ingredients
Filling
- 6 cups plums, pitted and sliced ($4.37)
- 1 ½ tablespoon all-purpose flour ($0.01)
- 3 tablespoon cane sugar ($0.01)
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon ($0.02)
Topping
- ½ tablespoon ground flaxseed ($0.02)
- 1 ½ tablespoon water ($0.00)
- ¾ cup all-purpose flour ($0.06)
- ¾ cup rolled oats ($0.14)
- ¾ cup brown sugar or coconut sugar ($0.24)
- ¼ teaspoon salt ($0.01)
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon ($0.02)
- ⅛ teaspoon nutmeg ($0.02)
- A pinch of cloves ($0.01)
- ¼ cup slivered almonds ($0.61)
- ½ cup melted vegan butter ($1.16)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract ($0.21)
Instructions
Plum Filling
- Preheat your oven to 350°F and grab out a baking dish. We use a 13×9 casserole dish for reference, but if you want a deeper crisp use a smaller one (like a 9x9).
- Wash, pit, and slice the plums. Then, toss them together with the all-purpose flour and cane sugar in a large mixing bowl. Transfer to the baking dish, and set aside while you prepare the topping.
Topping
- Prepare flax egg by mixing ½ tablespoon ground flaxseed with 1 ½ tablespoon water in a small bowl, and set aside. In another mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, rolled oats, brown sugar, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and almonds.
- In a third bowl, melt the vegan butter and whisk in the vanilla.
- Pour butter mixture and flax egg into the dry mixture and stir until everything is incorporated. It should look crumbly at this point.
- Next, use your hands to disperse the topping evenly over the plum layer. Bake for 40-45 minutes, or until the topping is golden and crispy.
- Remove your plum crisp from the oven and let it cool at room temperature for about 15-20 minutes.
- Serve warm with vegan vanilla bean ice cream.
Notes
- In order to yield the most caramelized, honey-like consistency, it's best to let the crisp sit at room temperature for at least 15 minutes before serving.
Nutrition
♻️ Similar recipes
For more addicting desserts, check out our:
- Simple peach cobbler with a vanilla nice cream for a classic take on cobbler we know will surpass your expectations.
- The best chewy oatmeal raisin cookies that are spiced to perfection.
- Vegan baked Oreo cheesecake because it's a cheesecake made of Oreo, seriously.
- Easy vegan chocolate chip banana bread for a melt-in-your-mouth dessert you'll never guess was dairy-free.
💬 FAQ
Yes, this crisp can be made gluten-free. You'll need to sub the all-purpose flour with your favorite gluten-free variety. Just make sure to use the right conversion!
Yes, you can use any variety of plum. We used Italian plums because that's what we have access to, but any will do!
We wouldn't recommend making this dessert without sugar. The top won't get as crispy and the sugar won't caramelize the fruit on the inside as much.
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