Plum Crumble with Cream

This morning I sat and read behind the window, sun rays warming my skin behind the glass. Like yesterday, the warmth gave me a tinge of nostalgia for Bilbao. Specifically in Bilbao, leaving Uribarri behind you and turning left opposite the Ribera, for a little restaurant around the corner called La Citronella.

La Citronella no longer exists but I as I’ve said before, I loved it. It had pattern-papered walls, others painted bright red, with tiny tables, a small kitchen, fabulous espresso machine, no-nonsense waiter and a different four course brunch menu every day, five days a week. One course always involved eggs - it was, after all, brunch - and the eggs were prepared a different way each day. And there was always a dessert, for what good is a menu without something sweet to send you home happy?

Basking in the spring sun and thinking of La Citronella, I decided to make some comfort food. And with comfort food goes a comfort dessert - light enough for sunny days, but full of rich flavour to counter the cold.

Plum Crumble with Cream

Ingredients (serves 2):
4 medium-ripe plums, sliced into wedges
2 teaspoons soft brown muscovado sugar
juice of 2 tangerines
2 tbsp unsalted butter
75ml whipping cream (or double cream)
2 tbsp white granulated sugar
2 tbsp cream cheese (Philadelphia is fine, so is a generic brand)
100 gram spekulaas, broken into chunks*

* Spekulaas is a typical Dutch biscuit, usually made around Christmas time, made of a shortbread type pastry dough spiced with cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, cinnamon, ginger, white pepper and aniseed. You can substitute some other strong-flavored biscuit, like ginger biscuits.

Instructions:
1. Put the butter in a saucepan. Add plums, dark brown sugar and port and bring to a boil. Stirring frequently and turn off heat when the liquid has taken on the texture of a thick syrup (approximately 10 minutes).

2. While the plum mixture is thickening, pour the whipping cream (or double cream) in a bowl with the white sugar, and whip by hand until it is relatively stiff, but not too much (at this stage peaks will form when you lift the whisk, but they will collapse quickly). Then, spoon in the cream cheese and mix thoroughly.

3. Take the spekulaas or bisquit chunks and place in a mortar and pestle. Smash (not completely, retain some small chunks) and pour into two bowls or low dishes.

4. Spoon over the warm plum mixture. Drop a few good size dollups of cream on top of each dish and serve hot.

Plum Crumble with Cream

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