When plums are in season, there's one particular recipe that I instantly look forward to cooking -- vanilla poached plums. They're a beautiful addition to ice-cream, French toast, porridge or custard.
Basic poached plums can simply be made by simmering fresh plums with sugar and water. To add a few more layers of flavor I include a fresh vanilla pod, ground cinnamon and a little liqueur like Grand Marnier.
When choosing plums for this recipe, I try to pick firm plums on the slightly tender side for a tarter flavor.
Tip: You can re-use the vanilla pod by storing it in your sugar jar for vanilla-flavored sugar.
Ingredients:
- 500 grams (1.25lbs) of firm red plums, washed
- 1/2 cup of castor sugar
- 225 mls of water
- 1/2 tsp of ground cinnamon
- 1 Tbsp of Grand Marnier
Preparation:
- Cut plums into quarters and discard the stones.
- Add sugar to a medium saucepan with water, ground cinnamon and the vanilla pod. Gently dissolve sugar over a moderate heat, stirring continuously.
- Remove vanilla pod from saucepan. Set aside.
- Gently slide plums into saucepan and bring syrup to the boil. Meanwhile, slice the vanilla pod in half length-ways and scrape out the seeds with a tip of a sharp knife. Add seeds to the saucepan and stir.
- Once the syrup is boiling, lower temperature to medium-low and simmer gently for 10-5 minutes or until plums are tender.
- Once ready, turn the heat off and let the plums cool in their syrup for about 15 minutes before serving with desired dessert or breakfast.