Prep time:

Cooking time: 1 hour

Total time:

Serves: 4

6 Large Plums

150g Crushed Amaretti Biscuits

130g Ground Almonds

50g Flaked Almonds

1 Egg Yolk

50ml Golden Syrup

Butter, for dotting

Flavour is the best thing about cooking food slowly, especially meat (those austerity cuts really can’t be cooked quickly). So put the oven on low (or go retro and plug in the slow cooker), then turn your mind to other things for a few hours while the dish does its slow and cosy thing

  1. Pre-heat oven to 325F/160C/gas 3.
  2. Slice the plums in half, remove the stone and scoop out a little either side of the shallow indent in the middle.
  3. Place in a roasting pan.
  4. Mix the other ingredients together and pile into the centre of each plum half and dot with butter.
  5. Put a little water in base of pan and cover with foil to keep them from drying out and bake for about an hour.
  6. Scatter some toasted flaked almonds over to serve (and possibly crème fraîche/cream/whatever).

  • words:
  • pictures: David Merewether

Daisy cupcakes

These are an indulgent treat after the fasting of Lent. Change the amount of buttercream if needed – the ratio is twice the amount of icing sugar to butter, which makes it easy to adjust.

Cheesy chicks

Almost too cute to eat, these are surprisingly easy to make and have gone down well with my testers, as the main ingredients are cheese and potato.

Flowerpot carrot cakes

These little carrot cakes are made in paper cake cases, then popped into tiny flowerpots for a seasonal twist. They were made using standard muffin cases and 6.5cm diameter terracotta flowerpots, but they will taste the same in straightforward cupcake...