Smulpaj med Plommon

Smulpaj — Swedish crumble — is found on almost every farmhouse table when stone fruits ripen in late summer. Unlike British crumble, the Swedish version often incorporates oats and cardamom in the topping, lending an aromatic depth that complements tart Victoria plums beautifully. Served warm with cold vanilla sauce or lightly whipped cream, it is pure September comfort.

Serves: 6

Ingredients

Filling

• 900g (2 lb) ripe plums (Victoria or Italian), halved and pitted
• 60g (¼ cup) caster sugar
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• ½ tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tbsp (15ml) lemon juice

Crumble Topping

• 150g (1¼ cups) plain flour
• 100g (1 cup) rolled oats
• 120g (½ cup) cold unsalted butter, diced
• 80g (⅓ cup) light brown sugar
• ½ tsp ground cardamom
• ½ tsp ground cinnamon
• Pinch of salt

To Serve

• 240ml (1 cup) cold vanilla custard or lightly whipped cream

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 190°C (375°F). Lightly butter a 23×30cm (9×12 in) baking dish.
2. Toss the plum halves with sugar, cinnamon, vanilla, and lemon juice. Spread evenly in the prepared dish, cut side up.
3. Make the crumble topping: combine flour, oats, brown sugar, cardamom, cinnamon, and salt in a bowl. Add the cold diced butter and rub in with fingertips until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs with some pea-sized lumps. Do not overwork.
4. Scatter the crumble topping evenly over the plums, covering them fully.
5. Bake 35-40 minutes until the topping is deep golden and the plum juices are bubbling up around the edges. If the topping browns too quickly, loosely tent with foil after 25 minutes.
6. Rest 10 minutes before serving. Serve warm with cold vanilla custard or cream.

Cook's Notes: The contrast between warm crumble and cold cream or custard is essential to the Swedish serving style. Damson plums or a mix of plums and pears also work well. Leftovers are excellent cold or reheated the next morning for breakfast.