Plum Crunch

Summer's here and along with it, come recipes for grunts and slumps as well as cobblers, crisps, crackles, roly poly, buckles, bettys and dumplings! I love every single one, too. 

Aside from my mother's, Ina's recipes really are the best. I made this plum crunch last year and never posted it; I can't imagine why as it was wonderful. Sometimes recipes get lost in files and it's always fun to discover one everyone really liked. 
(I'm skipping Ina First Friday in July because I'm joining Louise's online Picnic Game, so consider this my July Ina offering!)

Plum Crunch
2008, Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics

Ingredients:
3 pounds Italian prune plums, pitted and quartered 
1 1/2 cups light brown sugar, lightly packed 
1/4 cup all-purpose flour 
6 tablespoons creme de cassis liqueur 
For the topping 
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 
3/4 cup granulated sugar 
3/4 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed 
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt 
1 cup oatmeal 
1/2 cup chopped walnuts 
1/2 pound (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, diced 

Vanilla ice cream, for serving 

Method:
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. 

For the fruit, in a large bowl, combine the plums, brown sugar, flour, and cassis. Pour the mixture into a 12 by 8-inch shallow baking dish. 

For the topping, combine the flour, granulated sugar, brown sugar, salt, oatmeal, walnuts, and butter in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on low speed until the mixture is crumbly and the butter is the size of peas. Scatter evenly over the plum mixture. 


Bake the plum crunch for 40 to 45 minutes, until the plums are bubbling and the top is browned. Serve warm or at room temperature with ice cream.