Baked Damson Plums with Yogurt
So simple and soooo good! I wish I could say this more often about the dishes I love… I made this improvised sweet treat last weekend after bringing a big bag of my favourite plums and was really surprised to discover how excellent such an easy and quick dessert turned out. The same recipe can be made with any stone fruit, but for me the oval violet damsons are by far the best choice: the tart skin gives them quite a complex taste, especially when combined with very ripe sweet flesh and makes them perfect for baking. Seasoned with cinnamon, baked with a bit of brown sugar and served warm with chilled creamy yogurt, these roasted plums make a fantastic dessert I can sincerely recommend even to those who constantly watch their waistline.
In case you look for different ways to cook damsons or other plums:
TIPS: The contrast between chilled yogurt and warm fruits is very important here, so you can cut up the fruits and divide into individual portions well ahead and then put it into the oven when you serve the main course, for example. If you really have to bake this dessert in advance, reheat it just before serving. I tried it and of course the taste is slightly worse, but better than served cold.
I haven’t tried it yet, but I’m sure you can prepare it also with frozen fruits (I’ll certainly test it with frozen sour cherries because this is the only way I can get them here).
Preparation: about 40 minutes
Ingredients (serves two):
12 big damson plums (or the equivalent of any stone fruit you like)
2 heaped teaspoons brown sugar (or more, depending on the plum’s sweetness and on your preferences)
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
thick yogurt or sour cream or quark/fromage blanc to serve
Preheat the oven to 190°C.
Remove the stones from the fruits and cut each half into quarters (if you use smaller fruits, such as mirabelles or cherries, simply remove the stones and don’t cut them).
Put the plum pieces into individual baking dishes, sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar and bake for about 30-40 minutes.
Serve hot or warm with very cold yogurt, quark or sour cream.
I’ve never tasted damson plums but I’ll have to keep an eye out for them. It sounds like a great dish. The warm sweetness of the plums would be a great pairing with the cool tart yogurt.
Thanks a lot, A_Boleyn. I thought damson plums were quite popular in Canada too.
Oh, Sissi, you know how much I love your desserts – star ingredients, simplicity, just the right touch of sweet. I can smell this one from here. Stone fruits are at their peak right now, I’m loving this idea! I’ve been leaning towards cream lately (in all things – hah!) but love the idea of a yogurt here… I will try this one for sure. Thank you friend. I hope you had a great summer. ps: those math problems at the bottom are getting a little tricky – lol
Dear Kelly, thank you so much for such kind words… With age not only do I watch my waist closer, but – luckily – I’m more and more attracted to light, barely sweet and often simple desserts… I’m so happy to learn you like them. Sorry 🙁 I must check the maths plugin myself more often. I had no idea it changes (probably when I update it). Please let me know if it doesn’t work one day.
It’s too hot to turn on the oven (in Spain) so I’ll need to bookmark for when we get back. It’s been a stellar summer, even London had abnormally high temperatures (30C when we were there last week).
I did see these plums at our green grocer just before we left, hope they still have them when we get back.
Hi Eva, thank you so much for commenting from your holidays! I hope you are having wonderful time.
Bobby and I love eating fruit dishes like this for breakfast!! Have never tried baking plums before but because I love them so much, I can imagine how good they are, and with that touch of cinnamon – YUM! Great treat Sissi!
Thank you so much, MJ. This light dessert is perfect at any time of the day (I must have tried it already from dawn to dusk, since, like the Indian tomato salad, I keep on producing it all the time).
I love eating fruit this way, I make it from time to time as well. My favorite way to eat them is with strained yogurt. Mmmm!
Hi, Adina. I’m glad to learn you eat these plums in a similar way. I don’t bother straining yogurt if it’s thick and creamy.