If a competition was announced what is the most frequently baked dessert in Czech families, the winner would definitely be fruit cake with crumble, especially in the summer! Sometimes in a round-shaped form and called pie, sometimes a cake spread on a baking tray, garnished with plums, blueberries, currant, cherries, apricots, strawberries or raspberries. No matter how it is called and how it looks like, the result is always the best way how to make use of excessive summer fruit harvest.
Nowadays, restaurants prefer serving various ice-cream sundaes, tiramisu or chocolate cakes to traditional Czech pies – therefore, if you feel like finishing your lunch with this kind of fruity dessert, you will have to look around where it is offered. Or, you might also make it easier thanks to our website and enjoy its taste even without having to wait in front of heated oven.
Almond crumble is a recipe from Krkonoše region (Giant Mountains) and suits best to blueberries, though being as perfect match to plums as is poppy seed.
Procedure
Mix yeast with one tablespoon of sugar to make a smooth dough, pour in lukewarm milk, mix again, cover with a towel and put on a warm place to let the yeast ferment for about 10‑15 minutes.
Sieve the flour into a bowl, add egg yolks, melted butter (lukewarm, not warm), pinch of salt, grated lemon zest, pour in the fermented yeast mixture and knead in smooth dough. Cover with a towel and let rise for another 45 minutes.
In the meantime, cut the plums in halves, stone them and mix with sugar. To prepare crumble, mix soft butter with sugar, add flour, ground almonds and make a fine crumble with your fingertips.
Butter the baking tray and spread the fermented dough on it evenly (the easiest way to do this is with dampen hands), making either a round shape, or using the whole surface of the tray. Put plums on top, sprinkle with the crumble and brush sides of the dough with beaten egg. Bake in preheated oven at 180°C for about 20‑30 minutes, dough edges have to get brownish colour.