Damson and Apple Crumble

Ingredients

For the crust:

• 150g plain flour
• 80g butter
• 55g ground almonds
• 70g demerara sugar
• 75g oats

The Filling:

• 900g damson plums
• 450g apples – peeled, cored and chopped
• juice and zest of 4 lemons
• 225g caster sugar

Method

• In a large bowl, combine the damsons, lemon zest and juice and sugar. Mix well, then cover and leave overnight in the fridge.
• The next day, place the damsons on a baking try and roast in the oven until they split and look like marvellous marbles. This should only take 5-10 mins and is best to do as the oven is preheating. Let them cool and remove the stone, it will just pop out.
• Next heat the apples in a pan with a knob of butter and some suger once it begins to soften mix with the damsons on top .
• Rub the butter, which ideally should be cold from the fridge, into the flour with your fingertips. When the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs, stir in the almonds and sugar. Sprinkle a tablespoon of water over the mixture and stir lightly with a fork. Some of the crumbs should stick together in small lumps – this gives a more interesting crumble.
• Scatter the crumble over the fruit, then bake in a preheated oven at 200C/gas mark 6 for about 35 minutes. The crumble is done when the crumbs are pale gold and some juice has, hopefully, soaked through the crust. Allow to cool slightly before serving.