Plums

When you see your first plum, it is a moment when you know that autumn is on its way and there is no turning back. Already the nights are lengthening and there is a chill in the air at dusk. All is not lost for even though the plum is a simple fruit, it is something worth waiting for. To many, plums bring memories of school. Stewed plums floating in watery syrup and served with lumpy custard with a skin: the horrors of it all! Don't switch off now, give the poor plum a chance and try some of these GWG ideas.

The English season for plums is a short one, lasting for about three weeks. A Victoria plum from your garden can give as much pleasure as a cultivated variety. Providing the fruit is sweet, plums should be served raw. Refrigerating the fruit slows down the ripening process and spans out their shelf life. They can be picked unripened and in many cases, it means that you can get to the fruit before the wasps do.

If you intend to serve plums, try this piece of purely cosmetic advice. Chill the fruit for a few hours. Remove 15 minutes before serving and arrange on a plate or bowl. As the fruit acclimatises to room temperature, beads of condensation will form on the plums and they will look mouthwatering.

A delicious pudding for those who are still wary of repeating their school days of cooked plums should try Plum Tart. The fruit is raw and simply placed on crème patissière encased in crisp pastry. Although the recipe is lengthy, it is easy and definitely worth the effort.

PLUM TART

Pastry
180g plain flour
60g caster sugar
120g butter
1. Melt butter in a saucepan and add to sieved flour, sugar and pinch of salt.
2. Mix well with a wooden spoon to form soft dough. Press dough into loose-based flan tin, 24-25 cm, bringing the pastry up over the edges. Neaten with rolling pin. Chill for 30 minutes.
3. Bake blind for 25 minutes until golden in preheated oven, GM6, 400°F, Elec. Circo 170, 200°C.
4. Allow to cool and ease the case carefully out of tin.

Crème Patissière
1 egg yolk and 1 egg
60g caster sugar
20g plain flour
10g cornflour
275ml milk

1. Beat yolks and add one third of sugar and flours. Dilute with a little milk.
2. Bring the remaining milk (a vanilla pod added now enhances the flavour) to boiling point in a saucepan and remove from heat. Remove pod and slowly stir into yolk mixture.
3. Return liquid to pan and bring to boiling point again. Remove from heat and cool.
4. Whip egg white, add the rest of the sugar and whip until stiff.
5. Fold into cream mixture and pour into pastry case.

To assemble the tart, place halved and stoned plums on top of the cream and serve immediately.

If you do not have a hang up about cooked plums, try Margaret Costa's recipe from Four Seasons, Plumplings. This is a variation using puff pastry. Cut out squares of puff pastry. Remove stone from plum and put a teaspoon of Muscovado sugar in the middle of the fruit. Place plum on pastry square. Brush edges of pastry with beaten egg and scrunch up the pastry to form a sealed parcel. Put Plumplings in a shallow buttered dish and brush with beaten egg. Sprinkle with sugar. Bake for 20 minutes in a hot oven, GM7, 425°F, Elec. Circo 180, 220°C. Remember to keep a watchful eye as all ovens vary in temperature. Serve with lashings of cream.

If you are lucky enough to have an Aga, try this simple recipe. If you have a conventional oven, don't despair as you can do it too. Cover plums with a minimum amount of water. Splash with brandy to spice it up. Cook very slowly in the simmering oven of the Aga overnight or for 3 hours on the lowest of your oven. Serve hot or cold, with whipped cream laced with brandy or the very best vanilla ice cream.