Karen Gedera wrote earlier this year in search of a recipe she thought had been published in the Post-Dispatch about 40 years ago. “It is for Plum Crunch and is made by topping a layer of purple plums with a batterlike recipe,” she wrote. “I remember that you beat eggs until frothy and then sifted a flour mixture into the eggs. I also think that you poured melted butter over the topping. We loved the crisp topping this made, which is unlike any other recipe I have found.”

Cathy Messmer of St. Charles still had the newspaper clipping, which she photocopied and sent in. (The headline: “Plum Good Eating!”) Grace Horton of Marlboro also sent a copy, as did Virginia Horrell of High Ridge and Diane Friedmeyer of Chesterfield. Gigi Abrams of St. Louis provided a similar recipe. The crunch recipe was first published in 1967, so Gedera’s estimate of its age was just right.

You’ll note that one of the ingredients in the topping is mace. You can substitute nutmeg (the two spices come from the same plant).

FRESH PURPLE PLUM CRUNCH

Yield: 6 generous servings

About 4 cups pitted and quartered fresh purple prune plums (also called Italian plums)

 1/4 cup packed brown sugar

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

For topping:

1 egg, well beaten

1 cup sifted all-purpose flour

1 cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground mace 

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Pack plums into a round 8-by-2-inch baking dish, an 8-inch square baking dish or a 7-by-10-by-2-inch baking dish. Plums should come to within 1/2 inch of the top of the dish.

Mix together brown sugar, 3 tablespoons flour and cinnamon. Sprinkle over plums, stirring gently with a fork.

For topping: Beat egg until thick and lemon colored. Remove beater. Combine 1 cup flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, salt and mace in a flour sifter; sift into beaten egg. Using a table fork, mix together until very crumbly.

Sprinkle crumbly mixture over plums; do not mix in. Drizzle melted butter over top of crumbly mixture. Bake for 45 minutes.

Serve with any of the following: a pitcher of cream to pour on the crumble, a  bowl of slightly sweetened whipped cream with a sprinkling of grated orange rind or ground cinnamon, or cream cheese whipped to a fluff with a little milk and topped with bits of candied orange peel or toasted slivered almonds.