Plum crumble

Prepare the plums by washing them, cutting them in half and removing the stones. Then arrange them in the bottom of a large, shallow baking dish, then sprinkle over some sugar ( as much as you think is necessary). If you want to taste the plums before using them, just to check sweetness, then this is fine.

In a large mixing bowl, rub the butter into the flour and almonds with your fingers, then stir in the sugar. This should be done until they resemble fine breadcrumbs, so it will take a good 5 minutes.

Scatter the crumble over the fruit in the dish so that all the fruit is evenly covered with topping, then sprinkle on some extra sugar if you fancy.

Stick the crumble into a preheated oven , heated to 200C/400C (gas mark 6) for about 35 minutes, or until the top looks golden brown. Some of the juices should've bubbled up through the crumble.

Take it out of the oven and put the dish on a rack to cool.