I love to eat, but until recently I’ve never had any time to cook. Maybe the truth is I never made the time, because eating out was so convenient and I was always on the go. Plus being in a partnership with a Type A cook, it was always extremely challenging to negotiate space in the kitchen.

But one thing I’ve learned during the pandemic is that I love to bake. While I find so much cooking complex, baking is fundamentally functional, especially if there is seasonal fruit involved.

This is for a stone fruit crumble adapted by Flamingo Estate and chef Ella Freyinger.

I used an assortment of white and yellow peaches, nectarines and plums for the crumble. 8 cups total. Yes about 12 pieces of fruit. 4 of each kind.

The topping was simple: I threw in the Cuisinart 1 cup flour to 3/4 almond flour with a half pack of European butter (makes a huge difference) and 3/4 cup of Baker’s granulated sugar. A dash of salt, and pulse!

The recipe called for dried rose petals and pine nuts – I don’t like either / so I kept it minimal.

Baked at 375 on the convection which is about 400 normal for 45 and it turned out as this!

In retrospect I should have made more crumble but really this dessert is about the seasonal fruit and frankly the vanilla ice cream on top completes this!