My Spiced Poached Plums are a perfect, easily prepared, dessert. Fragrant and gently spiced, this is a dessert which is simple but full of flavour. Serve the Poached Plums warm, at room temperature or chilled. Top them with ice cream or cream for a fabulous dessert or serve them with yoghurt for a delicious breakfast.
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Why we love this recipe:
This is such a quickly and easily made dessert. You can have these delicious, Spiced Poached Plums on the table in a half hour. I am certain you will enjoy the flavours in this recipe; plums and spices are great friends.
Poaching the plums enhances their natural sweetness and their beautiful, vibrant colour. Once you discover how easy it is to poach fruit, you will be able to use this technique for peaches, apricots and nectarines. Consider using ginger, cardamom, nutmeg or vanilla to flavour the syrup. Use brown sugar or maple syrup to sweeten them. Or, try adding some rosewater or some white wine. So many delicious options.
Ingredients in this recipe:
Please see the recipe card further along in the post for exact quantities of ingredients and the full method.
Plums - my preference is for dark-skinned plums, but you can use light coloured if that's what you have.
Caster/superfine sugar - I prefer this sugar as it dissolves quickly.
Water - a small amount helps produce the syrup.
Balsamic vinegar - adds some colour and tang and enhances the flavour of the plums.
Whole star anise - adds an aromatic, warm spice note.
Cinnamon sticks - a warm spice which beautifully complements plums.
Orange peel - adds a bright citrus note.
Step by step instructions:
- To begin, halve the plums and remove the stone. Place in a medium-size saucepan.
- Add the sugar, water, balsamic vinegar, star anise, cinnamon sticks and orange peel to the plums and place over low-medium heat.
- Slowly bring to the boil, stirring gently, until the sugar has dissolved. Cover the saucepan and cook for a further 5 - 10 minutes or until the plums are soft and just cooked.
- When cooked, remove the star anise, cinnamon and orange peel. Gently transfer the plums to a heatproof serving bowl to stop the plums from cooking further. Serve the Poached Plums warm, at room temperature or chilled with a little of the poaching liquid.
Tips for success and FAQs:
Yes, certainly, you can make them two days in advance. When cool, store them in the refrigerator in an airtight container.
Yes, store the cold Poached Plums in an airtight, freezer-safe container, in the freezer for up to 5 months. Be sure to date and label the container as it is difficult to recognise food once it is frozen.
I don't peel the plums, their skins are not tough and I like the added fibre and nutrients the skin contains. It is also where most of the antioxidants are located.
For the best appearance, I like to use plums that are firm but just ripe as they will hold their shape. If you only have very ripe fruit, you can still use it, but it will fall apart.
More delicious recipes for you to try:
Love stone fruit as much as we do? Here are some more of our favourite recipes we recommend giving a try:
- Easy Plum Jam
- Apricot Jam
- Fresh Peach Chutney
- Peach and Plum Crumble
- Mini Plum Tarts
- Peach and Mint Smoothie
- Fresh Peach Salsa
You will enjoy the flavours in my Spiced Poached Plums. This is such a versatile dish; there are so many ways to enjoy the Plums. I like to serve them warm with my Vanilla Ice Cream, enjoying the juxtaposition of warm and cold. Serve them for breakfast with pancakes or waffles, or enjoy them simply with plain Greek yoghurt, the acidic tang of the yoghurt perfectly offsetting the sweet, spiced syrup and meltingly tender plums. Or, if you prefer a sweeter option, try with my Caramelised Yoghurt Cream.
I do hope you will try these Spiced Poached Plums. Please let me know in the comments below if you do.
Alex xx
This post was originally published in February 2019. It has been updated with new photos and more information. The recipe remains the same.
Spiced Poached Plums
Please note:
For accuracy, when weights are provided, we recommend weighing your ingredients. This will produce the best results. All oven temperatures listed are for fan forced.
Ingredients
- 12 medium-sized plums (just ripe) See Note 1
- 1 cup caster/superfine sugar See Note 2
- 1 tablespoon water See Note 3 and 4
- 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar See Note 4
- 3 whole star anise
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- 2 strips orange peel See Note 5
Instructions
- Wash the plums well and cut them in half following the natural indentation in the plum. Remove the stone using the tip of a small, sharp knife.
- Combine the plums, sugar, water, balsamic vinegar, star anise, cinnamon sticks and orange peel in a medium-size saucepan over low-medium heat.
- Slowly bring to the boil, stirring gently, until the sugar has dissolved.
- Cover the saucepan and cook for a further 5 - 10 minutes or until the plums are soft and just cooked. The length of cooking time will depend on the ripeness of your plums. - See Note 6
- When cooked, remove the star anise, cinnamon and orange peel. Gently transfer the plums to a heatproof serving bowl to stop the plums from cooking further.
- Serve them warm, at room temperature or chilled with a little of the poaching liquid. Serve the Poached Spiced Plums with our Vanilla Ice Cream or Greek yoghurt. There are further serving suggestions in the section above the recipe.
- For textural contrast, serve with toasted slivered or flaked almonds.
Notes
- Plums come in a range of colours. My preference is for dark-skinned plums. When serving, they are more aesthetically pleasing and the vibrant colour of the skin contains more antioxidants. However, if only pale-skinned plums are available, these will also taste delicious.
- My preference is for caster/superfine sugar as it dissolves quicker than granulated sugar.
- I add just a little water to encourage them to release their natural juices and to stop them from catching whilst the sugar is dissolving.
- The Australian tablespoon is 20 ml or 4 teaspoons. In many other countries, the tablespoon is 15 ml or 3 teaspoons. Please adjust your measurements if necessary.
- Remove strips of peel from the orange using a vegetable peeler, being careful to avoid the bitter, white pith.
- My plums were quite firm and they took 15 minutes to cook so you will need to time yours according to their ripeness. If yours are fully ripe, they may only take a few minutes.
- Please note, the nutritional information is based on this recipe serving four people. It does not include what it is served with. The nutritional information is an estimate only.
Nutrition Estimate:
Nutritional Disclaimer:
The nutritional information is an estimate only, and is derived from online calculators. For accurate results, we recommend calculating the nutritional information based on the ingredients and brands you use.
Kate says
Delicious!
Alexandra Cook says
Thank you, Kate!
Alex xo
Mr. Noel says
Great recipe BUT I wish you would add the weight of the fruit - I have bucketful of golf ball size plums - and have 18 of them will equal your 12 medium.
Love your recipes even if I am an 82 years young fan of yours.
Alexandra Cook says
Hello Mr. Noel,
Thank you so much for giving the recipe a try, and thoughtful feedback.
This recipe is due for an update, and I'll be sure to add in the weight when this is done. (Hopefully over the next few days!)
It is so lovely to hear you enjoy the recipes 🙂 Thank you again for your comment! Alex xo
Alfred Van Kalken says
Hi Alex,
I made this recipe using Queen Garnet dark plums, which I quartered, but omitted the sugar. However, using aged balsamic and star anise really made it!
The QG plums result in a dark crimson juice, so when they are served up in white dish dishes with a big dallop of plain yoghurt on top, also looks stunning!
Alexandra Cook says
Hello Alfred,
Sounds delicious with yoghurt - yum!
I am so happy you enjoyed them! Alex xo
Alice says
Easy recipe, lovely spices, in season fruits.... what's not be like!
Adds a WOW element to my cheese board
Alexandra Cook says
Thank you, Alice 🙂
I am so happy you enjoyed this recipe. Love that you served it as part of a cheese board!
Alex xo
Rosalie says
These poached plums are delicious- served with vanilla ice cream bowl licking good😊
Alexandra says
Hi Rosalie, thank you for your lovely comments on the Spiced Poached Plums. I am delighted that you enjoy them. 🙂
Courtney says
Absolutely delicious and so simple to make - not to mention gorgeous on your plate!
Alexandra says
Hi Courtney, thank you for the lovely comments about our Spiced Poached Plums. I am delighted that you enjoyed them. 🙂
Michele says
Cant wait to make this. As I have a huge amount of plums could you also make and freeze this recipe?
Alexandra says
Hi Michele,
Yes, this should freeze nicely!
I am not sure if you have seen some of our other plum recipes, but these may be of interest to you also as you have a lot of plums:
* Easy Plum Jam (this will last for 12 months)
* Peach and Plum Crumble
* Mini Plum Tartlets
Enjoy!
Kerry says
Wow! This is a gorgeous recipe. Bonus is my house smells amazing. Thank you.
Alexandra says
Thank you, Kerry!!
So glad you like it 🙂
Cindy says
This was so delicious. I made it today! It was approved by my entire family! I am adding it to the rotation for sweet treats!! YUMMMM
Alexandra says
That is great, Cindy!! Thank you so much for letting me know. Kind regards, Alex
Gladys says
Delicious! Thank you
Alexandra says
Gladys, I am delighted that you enjoyed the plums. Thank you so much for letting me know. 🙂
Polly says
This dessert is so appetizing. I enjoy eating plums and I hadn't had any in a long time. The recipe is easy to follow, and produces a wonderful result.
Alexandra says
Thank you, Polly!