For the Love of Plums: A Round-up

Its no mistake that plum rhymes with yum

For some reason, when I was writing my book SIFT, I was obsessed with plums.

One thing that I didn’t foresee when writing the book was developing recipes out of season. Try finding a peach in January that doesn’t make you question all that is good in the world of fruit - it’s pretty much impossible. I must have felt, in the depths of writing the book, that plums could be willed and encouraged in a way that other stone fruits couldn’t. And as a result, I’ve got some beautiful recipes in there: From a plum buttermilk steamed sponge, to the plum and mascarpone karpatka to a plum and rocket focaccia topping, it was and is my comfort fruit.

Of course, now that we are in peak plum season it’s our job as responsible bakers and fruit fans to make the most out of it. I’ve put together a list of my favourite plum recipes here on the newsletter and in SIFT (get a copy here!) to keep you entertained this season.

It’s hard to believe that SIFT has been in the world for about four months now - I’m so happy to see you cooking and baking from it, learning and sharing. Everytime I go into a bookshop and see it, I get huge butterflies! I also love it when I go into a bookshop and don’t see it - it usually means someone has bought up the last copy recently and they’ll have to get more in! Just a few weeks ago, it became widely available in Australia and New Zealand, and in July it came out in its first foreign language translation - dutch! Renamed as “Bloem, Suiker, Boter” it’s the best reminder that cake and baking is a universal language, even if the words for whisk, gluten and emulsion need to be translated.

To my North American readers - SIFT (in a pink jacket!) will be out in just over two months! I’m working on a book tour and events at the moment and I really hope to see you there. In the meantime, you can pre-order now. The link is geo-tagged btw, so wherever you open it, it should give you options for where you are! You can pre-order now.

Coming up soon: The Abergavenny Food Festival

In just a few weeks, I’ll be speaking and demo-ing at the Abergavenny Food Festival. It looks like so much fun! Though I haven’t been before, the whole town becomes vibrant and alight with great things to eat, conversations to be had and heard and access to producers. I can’t wait. Just look at this map! You can get a stroller ticket, which is a general access ticket which gives you access to most of the venues - the whole weekend is just £25!

I’ll be doing an intimate chat with my absolute bread hero Adam Sellar (tickets are £5 and can be bought here) as well as a demo on the Sunday at 12:30 - come and eat Apple Turnovers with me!

I will ALSO be doing a collaboration with The Angel Bakery x Hard Lines Coffee which I’m super excited about.. More on that soon. It’s SOOOO delicious - I have been recipe testing all week. Can’t wait to show you! I will also be doing a book signing at the bakery, will confirm times soon. 

Plum true love

Greengages, Victoria, Mirabelle, Opal, Damson and Majories: These are just a few of the plum varieties you can get your hands on in peak season. Though that might seem like a decent amount of variety, it’s the tip of the plum iceberg. There are over 2000 varieties of plums available worldwide and these little stone fruits, with juicy flesh and large stones, are a mainstay of autumnal cooking and baking. 

A little reminder: If seasons had a canary, the sudden influx of British plums lets me know that summer is drawing to a close. So, how do these arbiters of Autumn fit into the above, and how do we deal with these properties? Tragically, there is not a lot of research on what is happening at a cellular level between varieties of fruit - we understand that varying fruit textures result from stronger or weaker cell structures. Still, no food scientists (yet!) have charted the firmness, tartness, sweetness and behaviour when cooking between specific varieties, so we have to rely on a) typical assumptions and b) experience.

Firstly,  typical assumptions, I would like to offer you this: Plums, though they do vary, may have a water content of up to 90%, making them incredibly juicy. Generally, the sugar content is around 10%, and most varieties have a naturally high pectin content.

As for experience: This week, I found that smaller, oval-shaped plums, like victoria plums, held their shape slightly better overall than fat, round plums, more common in Europe. 

Greengages were surprisingly outstanding; the ones I had were somewhat underripe and held their shape extraordinarily well. Though I don’t often use underripe fruit in my recipes, when it comes to plum pie, you can afford to go slightly on the harder side, though make sure the flavour isn’t too tart. The higher level of pectin plus the ability to withstand cooking results in a pie filling with much more integrity.

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My favourite plum recipes

Plum, brown sugar & ricotta cake

Aka ‘my moving in cake’ this is a rich tender cake with islands of plums scattered across the top. It bakes marvellously and the ricotta is light, never claggy (as is my main fear). A good way to celebrate plums in a most casual manner. Click here to make it.

Plum and Mascarpone Karpatka

Ever since I learned about Karpatka, the Polish mountain cake filled with cream, I have been obsessed. Wiggly choux and so much filling, with stewed plums for that stunning cut through… it’s a sliceable, sharable giant eclair and I couldn’t love it more. Page 204 in SIFT! Click here to get a copy.

Plum Frangipane Tart

Everyone needs a great frangipane tart in their life and i’m pretty confident that this one will be your go to. Thinly sliced plums make a stunning, simple finish that can be glazed or left plain. Serve with a big dollop of cream or enjoy on its own, either way you’ll be putting plums where they deserve to be: In the spotlight. Click here to make it

Plum Clafoutis

A brand new recipe for this week for KP+ by Cissy Difford, pastry chef and writer based in London. Her take on this classic pudding will see you through autumn. She uses greengages, but any plum will do Click here to make it.

Basil cake with roasted plums

This newsletter teaches you about how to make vibrant herb oils and using them in your cakes as a flavourful and alternative fat to brighten and bolster your recipes - the roasted plums bake for a gorgeous topping, too. Cream, as ever, is essential. Click here to make it!

 Golden Plum Empire Cookies by Camilla Wynne

Gorgeous, short buttery cookies sandwiched with golden plum jam, these are the most beautiful tea time treat. Camilla also teaches us how to make these perfect little pansy flower decorations for your future cakes, biscuits and bakes. Click here to make it

Plum and walnut linzer

I am so fascinated by linzer dough - have you made it? Its made by boiling eggs and using the firm yolks in the dough - it’s melt in the mouth and really unlike anything i’ve ever tried before. I have a savory version in my book sift, but this classic plum and walnut version here is rather gorgeous: Click here to make it

Plum Crumble Pie

A show stopper to be sure, this plum crumble pie is a juicy, hectic slice that just gives Sunday Lunch energy. This newsletter also goes into detail about different pie setting agents - tapioca, rice, almonds (!), flour and cornstarch, so a great place to learn about how to approach juicy fruit pies. Click here to make it 

Plum Buttermilk Steamed Sponge

Are you ready for a hot pudding yet? If not, bookmark this for next month. I adore this plum and buttermilk steamed sponge - so simple, so satisfying, light tangy but grounded by the plums. Page 204 in SIFT. Click here to get a copy.