Mary Berry’s plum crumble recipe

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Mary Berry’s plum crumble takes 10 minutes to prepare and is only 406 calories per portion.

mary berry's plum crumble
(Image credit: Alamy)
Serves6
SkillEasy
Preparation Time10 mins
Cooking Time30 mins
Total Time40 mins
Five A DayOne
Cost RangeCheap
Nutrition Per PortionRDA
Calories406 Kcal20%
Sugar52.8 g59%
Fat11.1 g16%
Saturated Fat6.6 g33%
Salt0.23 gRow 4 - Cell 2
Protein4.0 g8%
Carbohydrates73.3 g28%
Salt0.23 gRow 7 - Cell 2

Mary Berry’s plum crumble is cheap and easy to make and requires just seven ingredients. 

Beneath this crumble topping is a mixture of soft plump plums which have been tossed in a mix of orange juice, zest and a little sugar. You can enjoy the crumble on its own but it’s also great served with custard or ice cream. 

Ingredients

  • 900g fresh plums, halved and stoned
  • Finely grated rind of 1 orange
  • 1 tbsp orange juice
  • 175g granulated sugar

For the crumble:

  • 175g plain flour
  • 75g butter, cubed
  • 50g Demerara sugar

WEIGHT CONVERTER

to

Method

  1. Heat the oven to 200C (180C fan, Gas 6). You will need a 1.7–2 litre (3–3½ pint) shallow ovenproof dish.
  2. Put the raw plums, orange rind and juice and granulated sugar in the dish and toss together.
  3. Put the flour and butter into a processor and whiz until it looks like breadcrumbs. Tip into a bowl, stir in the Demerara sugar and sprinkle on top of the plums. Level the top.
  4. Bake in the oven for about 30–40 minutes, or until pale golden brown on top and bubbling around the edges.

Top tips for making Mary Berry’s plum crumble 

If you are making this crumble out of season, you can use frozen plums. Defrost the plums until you can just cut them in half. Remove the stone, tip the plums into a bowl, add the sugar and orange rind and juice and continue. If you leave them to completely defrost they will lose their colour.

How far ahead can you make Mary Berry’s plum crumble?

Assemble the crumble up to the end of step three a few hours ahead. Remove from the fridge 15 minutes for baking in a hot preheated oven. 

How do you make a crumble not soggy?

Don’t press the crumble mixture on top of the fruit too firmly. Instead, sprinkle it over and make sure you use a wide shallow dish. This gives you a higher ratio of crunchy topping pieces. 

How do you thicken fruit for crumble?

You can toss the fruit in a little cornflour to help thicken the juices if you’d prefer the crumble to have a thicker sauce. 

Although you can make the crumble topping by hand, the quickest and easiest way to do it is in a food processor. 

You can read the full Ninja 3 in 1 food processor review , by freelance journalist and Goodto’s parent tester Grace Holliday, if you want more information on what it can be used for. 

Ninja 3 in 1 Food Processor - View at Amazon

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The Ninja 3-in-1 food processor can be used to chop ingredients, knead dough and blitz soups and sauces. It’s also perfect if you’re making baby food from scratch. 

For something more traditional, check out our apple crumble recipe. You might also like this Hairy Bikers apple and blackberry crumble or explore all of our Mary Berry recipes for some sweet or savoury inspiration. 

Mary Berry
Celebrity baker

Mary Berry CBE is one of the most loved celebrity chefs in the country. In her early 80s, she’s been on our screens showing us how to make the most delicious recipes and sweet treats for over 50 years! Mary is probably most famous for being one of the original judges on The Great British Bake Off, where she put contestants through their paces for nine years before leaving the show when it made its controversial move from the BBC to Channel Four. 

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