You are going to absolutely love this Plum and Pear Crisp with vanilla rum and a brown sugar oat crumble topping. It has all the best fall flavors and is super easy to whip together.
Baking with Vanilla Rum
This homemade fall fruit crisp is not only packed full of red bosc pears and black plums, but is flavored with a delicious vanilla rum. No need for vanilla extract with this dessert.
How to tell if the pears and plums are ripe
For this recipe, I would recommend fruit that is slightly firmer than ripe. Super soft fruit will make the crisp gooey and to firm will lack the sweet flavor.
Pears ripen from the inside out, so its hard to tell at just a glance. If you want to make a pear is ripe, very gently squeeze the pear near the stem. If the pressure gives just enough to be slightly soft, then its ready to be eaten.
This technique works for plums too. If they are super firm to the touch and the skin doesn't indent slightly when pressed they need a bit more time.
Tips for Fall Fruit Crisp
- Ripe fruit is perfect for eating, but slightly firm is preferred for this recipe. This makes slicing a breeze and will prevent having an overly moist filling.
- Slice your pears and plums to about ¼ inch thick so they are tender in contrast to the crisp topping.
- Mix your topping with a fork or even better your hands. Make sure all the flour and oats are well covered in butter and sugar. Leave it a bit clumpy so you have yummy chunky golden crunchiness in every bite.
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Plum and Pear Crisp
Ingredients
Method
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and position oven rack one level below the center. Lightly butter an 9 by 12 inch baking dish, or similar sized casserole dish, set aside.
- Place sliced plums and apples in a large bowl then pour Vanilla Rum over the fruit and gently toss with hands to evenly coat.
- In a medium mixing bowl whisk together granulated sugar, brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, star anise, and orange zest.
- Add the sugar and spice mixture to the bowl of fruit and toss again until evenly coated.
- Spoon filling into prepared pan. Next prepare your crisp topping.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, granulated sugar, brown sugar, oats, and cinnamon.
- Pour melted butter into the mixture and stir with a fork until large crumbles form. Don't over mix and leave some of the topping chunky.
- Sprinkle the oat mixture evenly over top of the fruit.
- Bake in preheated oven for 45-50 minutes until top is golden brown and fruit filling is bubbling around the side.
- Place pan on cooling rack for about 15-20 minutes before serving.
Cass
This looks AMAZING! I’ve recently had to go dairy-free which I’m still adjusting to. Do you think subbing coconut oil for the butter would be effective? Or would it really not give it the same taste/finish? Or perhaps a high-quality vegan butter?
Jenn
I would go with the vegan butter first 🙂 The coconut oil we completely change the texture and flavor.