Roasted Plums with Red Wine, Honey & Cinnamon

I've been smacking you over and over again with fruit-based recipes lately, but there's no remorse at my end as we're at that time of year when the good weather fades away into something much more bleak. So, my pretties, we must salvage what we can before the inevitable next season is upon us, as sad as it is to see Summer shove off.

To ease us into Autumn I have the easiest recipe ever. It's MULLED WINE IN SOLID FORM! No joke. It's quite tart, and there is a subtle spice cosied up in there, and honey! I forgot to mention the honey, which is lovely. Dark brown sugar is better than white sugar on most occasions, so don't skimp, especially if your plums are a little under-ripe. 

Spoon this over your pancakes, your granola, your porridge or your vanilla ice cream. I blended up half this batch with a cup of heavy cream and half a cup of honey yogurt and churned it in the ice cream machine (which subsequently died, R.I.P) and it was a stunner.

This recipe is a little off the cuff, but in the best kind of way. Adapt it any way you fancy with different spices.

Take about 6-7 plums, blood plums or the usual kind, quarter them, leaving the skins on. Place in a baking tray with two heaped spoonfuls of dark brown sugar, around 2/3 cup red wine, a shake of cinnamon (and a halved and scraped vanilla bean if you have it), a good squeeze of honey to your taste and then give it a stir around to combine. Whack in a 180 degree oven for around 30 minutes, or until it is bubbling and the plums are soft. If you like, remove the plums from the liquid after you have baked them, and reduce the syrup on the stove to make a super-sticky sauce.