September is the season of the Plum. The plum is one of the first fruits ever domestically harvested. This small, sweet, juicy fruit will soon be in full bloom and ripe for plucking.
Baked plums on toast with mascarpone and lemon is a moreish recipe that makes the most of fresh, juicy plums. I love this recipe because it is simple. Try it as a dish for Sunday morning brunch, or for a quick and elegant dish for friends. Plums’ sweetness and depth of flavor is enhanced when stewed so this is a great dessert.
Ingredients
- Approx 600-650g plums
- 4 slices of chewy white sourdough, San Francisco is good or 8 slices of ciabatta cut at an angle just slightly less than 1 cm thick
- 75g unsalted butter
- 2 vanilla pods
- 200g caster sugar
- 1 thick skinned lemon
- 40ml brandy
- 150ml mascarpone
How To
- Preheat oven to 200˚C
- Slice the vanilla pods in half lengthways and scrape out the seeds with a teaspoon then combine with the sugar in a bowl.
- Slice the plums in half and remove the stones then place in a largish bowl. Add the vanilla sugar and the brandy. Toss together and leave to marinate for 30 minutes to an hour.
- Spoon the mascarpone into a bowl and grate the zest of 1/4 lemon, stir to combine.
- Butter the slices of bread then lay each slice buttered side up in an earthenware dish lightly dotted/greased with the remaining butter large enough so they don’t overlap. Spoon the fruit onto the slices of bread and drizzle over some of the liquor. Bake in the oven for 20 – 25 minutes, then remove and place a spoonful of the mascarpone cream over the top of each slice. Return to the oven for a couple of minutes until the mascarpone starts to just melt and collapse. Serve hot.
nichelle cole 