Last year when I was visiting Colmar, I stopped into the kiosk at the train station where of all places  I found a book of recipes of Alsatian Boulangers . Alsace is close to my heart because it is the region I lived in up until we left Europe for America. The flavors I remember especially are the tartes with stone fruits or berries. This being the fall season,(you wouldn’t know it with the 80 F degrees we have been experiencing this week), I got some plums, Italian or quetsche as they call them there. My intention was to make a tarte, but instead I found a dessert not much different than a crumble, a gremmelkueche.

Plum crumble tarte

This is a recipe  based on one from Recette Gourmandes des Boulangers d’Alsace

250 g flour
5 g baking powder
5 g cinnamon
100 g superfine sugar
75 g butter
1 whole egg
600 g Italian plums

Rub together the butter, flour, baking powder, cinnamon and butter until the mix feels incorporated. Combine the sugar, eggs and add it into the mix, working with the tips of your fingers until it has turned into little pea sized lumps.Chill in the fridge while your removing the pits from the plums.
Prepare a sheet pan with a sheet of parchment or a butter it. Take half of the crumble mixture and flatten it on the pan into a rectangular shape. Place the cut and stoned plums facing up on the cut side and cover with the remaining crumble mix. Bake in a preheated oven at 428 F 220 C degrees for approximately 35 minutes.