Plum Cardamom Crisp with Oat & Pecan Topping

This delicious plum cardamom crisp features a crunchy oat and pecan topping and is an ideal dessert for late summer or early fall. Flavorful and easy to make, but trust me - it’s best when served with a scoop of your favorite vegan vanilla ice cream! Vegan & gluten-free.

From berries to stone fruits to watermelon and beyond, nothing beats the deep flavors of fresh summer fruit! Peak summer fruit isn’t just any old fruit - it’s extra juicy, extra flavorful, and extra mouth-wateringly delicious. Just take strawberries, for example. If you’ve ever had fresh farmers’ market peak-season strawberries in June, you know that they don’t even begin to compare to their grocery store counterparts! Get those out-of-season, bland, and plastic-y strawberries out of my fridge.

Not only is summer fruit unbeatably delicious, it’s also available in (sometimes unmanageable) abundance. With so many different fruits in season, it’s tough not to go overboard and purchase 4 pounds of plums (in addition to several more pounds of peaches, a couple of watermelons, and 7 pints of berries) when a pound or two really would’ve held me over for the week. (Just me?) Luckily, it’s easy enough to avoid a tragic landfill ending for plums by baking them into a tasty crisp before they start looking 🥴 (no one wants that!). Let’s get into it!

Why You’ll Love this Plum Cardamom Crisp

Insanely delicious flavors. While juicy plums are certainly delicious on their own, they’re absolutely next level when paired with cardamom (which is probably the MVP of sweet aromatic spices! 😍) and a hint of lemon. During baking, the plums transform into a warm, slightly jammy, sweet yet tangy filling that perfectly complements the sweet, crispy oat and pecan topping. What’s not to love?!

Perfect with (vegan!) ice cream. This crisp is delightful on its own, but if you pair it with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, it’ll really enhance the whole eating experience. Somehow, both the crisp and ice cream manage to taste better together than they do individually. 🤯 Try it!

Late summer & early fall vibes. Plums are in season (read: extra juicy and flavorful) from late summer through the early fall, which makes them a great baking ingredient for those transitional shoulder season days, although they’re also just as great in the peaks of both of those seasons. In the summer, this crisp is a nice break from all the berry and peach desserts out there since it’s still very bright (thanks to the lemon!) and summer-y, but with a tart edge. And in the fall, this plum crisp can switch up your fall baking from the traditional apple and pumpkin flavors (which, I also adore, but more variety is never a bad thing!) while still getting plenty of fall vibes from the pecan inside the crisp topping.

Beginner-friendly & easy to make. Even if you’ve never baked anything in your life, I guarantee you can successfully bake this crisp. Unlike many baking projects that require precise measurements, techniques, and the very strong will to resist overmixing a batter, crisps are non-fussy and very forgiving! It just takes 3 simple steps before you can pop this crisp into the oven - 1) make the crisp topping by combining oats, chopped nuts, melted butter and a few other ingredients; 2) make the filling by combining plums with starch, sugar, and flavoring agents; and 3) top the filling with the crisp topping - and then bake. That’s it!

Ingredient Overview

Filling

Plums. Plums are naturally sweet and slightly tart, making them ideal fruits for baking! But did you also know they contain antioxidants? They’re particularly high in polyphenol antioxidants, which prevent/reverse the cell damage that builds over time (as a result of aging, lifestyle, and our environment), which is linked to several chronic diseases. Plums are mighty fruits!

Light brown sugar. Brown sugar’s characteristic caramel-y notes help add some rich flavor depth into the crisp while also providing the necessary added sweetness into both the filling and topping.

Lemon zest and juice. A bit of lemon zest and juice add acidity and brightness, cutting through the sweetness and creating a brighter, slightly tangy, and more balanced flavor!

Cardamom. For that beautiful, sweetly aromatic flavor! Cardamom is insanely delicious in so many different scenarios, but is naturally at home when paired with plums.

Arrowroot starch. The plums, lemon juice, and sugar release moisture into the filling, so the arrowroot starch is essential to thickening up the juices and creating a thicker and slightly jammy-textured filling during baking.

Topping

Oats. Old-fashioned rolled oats are the defining ingredient of a crisp topping! Without oats, you’d be making a cakier, less crispy crumble topping. Oats also add a bit of wholesome nutritious goodness into the crisp since they’re fiber-loaded whole grains that are rich in vitamins, minerals, and protein.

Pecans. Chopped pecans add some rich, buttery notes and crunch. Like plums, pecans are also high in polyphenols, and they also add fiber, protein, and plenty of vitamins!

Light brown sugar & cardamom. See above!

Almond flour. To help bind all the topping ingredients together.

Fine salt. A bit of salt goes a long way in enhancing all the flavors!

Vegan butter. Melted first, then combined with the rest of the topping ingredients to bind them into a crumbly topping that crisps up during baking.