20 ways with plums

Watch our step-by-step video for Kirstie Allsopp’s plum pudding. This warming dessert recipe is a great way to get the best out of your plums. With a soft sponge base and a tangy plum topping, this pudding is sure to go down a treat.

These quick plum tarts are a simple plum recipe that only takes 22 mins to make. Pop down to the supermarket and buy some ready-rolled puff pastry and you’re ready to go. With sweet trickling golden syrup and soft flaked pastry, your plums will never have tasted better.

Make this simple honey-poached plums recipe in no time. These juicy plums are poached in honey and cinnamon syrup to give them a really sweet taste, and makes them healthier than plums poached in sugar. Serve with a spoonful of double cream or natural yogurt for a creamy finish.

Are your plums not ripe enough to use? You can cheat and ripen them in a paper bag instead of waiting. Pop in the bag, close loosely and leave on the kitchen side for a few days. Once the fruit is ripe, store in the fridge and use within 3 days.

Plum, blueberry and almond crumble is a great way to get the best flavour from your plums. Packed full of tangy fruit and topped with a crispy flaked almond layer, this crumble will be a big hit with the family.

Make sure your plums are halved and de-stoned before popping into the crumble. Mix with blueberries, orange zest and juice, almond essence and sprinkle with sugar. Prepare your fruity layer in the dish you’re going to cook it in to save extra washing up.

How about turning your plums into a sweet homemade sauce? This spicy steak with plum sauce recipe is just the ticket. With succulent steak cooked in Chinese spices and served with a handful of fresh greens, our easy plum sauce adds a rich, flavoured edge to this meaty dish and takes no time at all to rustle up.

Preparing this dish for a dinner party? Be extra organised and make the plum sauce the day before. Just pop in the fridge and leave overnight and reheat the sauce before serving. If you’ve got some leftover this can also be frozen for up to 3 months and is perfect served with other meat like duck, chicken or turkey.

Fancy making something sweet and moreish? This plum traybake with cheesecake ripple recipe is bursting with sweet plum flavours. It takes a little while to cook but is definitely worth the wait. With a soft, moist sponge and cream cheese swirls, this dessert is just delicious. Serve with single cream or save for later and enjoy with a cuppa.

Plum upside-down cupcakes are a great new dessert idea. They’re easy-to-make and packed full of fruity flavour. With a soft almond-infused sponge and a sweet and sugary plum base, these cupcakes are perfect for dessert, afternoon tea or even for kids parties.

These plum cupcakes can be served warm or cold and are a great way to get the best out of juicy plums. Why not make your very own homemade custard to serve?

This plum and apple cobbler is a delicious classic with a twist. Plum and apple make a great fruit combination and add so much flavour to this dish. Topped with golden sponge layer, this dish is irresistable served hot with ice cream for a warming fruity warming kick and a cooling creamy sensation.

When cooking your plums, make sure you leave them to cool before adding the cobbler pieces. This will stop the fruit from bubbling out over the sides and making the dish look untidy – not to mention making a mess in your oven!

Why not make your very own homemade plum jam? This is the perfect recipe if you happen to have a plum tree in your garden with fruit that goes to waste every year. Rustle up some sweet plum jam and serve on warm toast or freshly baked scones. All you need is granulated sugar, butter and a punnet full of ruby red plums. What are you waiting for?

Add extra flavour to your jam by breaking open a few of the plum stones to get the kernels. Cover with a cloth and tap firmly with a hammer and add to the pan when cooking the plums in sugar. Make sure you’ve got some traditional jam jars to store it in – it’s a great edible gift idea!

This easy plum and marzipan filo tarts recipe is perfect if you want to rustle up something quick and tasty. They only take 20 mins to make and are a great way to serve plums. With a crispy filo pastry base and juicy, marzipan-infused plums on top, this dish is delicious served with natural yogurt or whipped cream.

For this recipe you’ll need 6 large plums, but don’t worry if you can’t find any. You could always use 8 smaller plums instead – just make sure they’re juicy, soft and ripe for the best flavour.

Why not add some fruity flavour to your flapjack recipe with these moreish banana, plum, sultana and apricot flapjacks? This fruity favourite is packed full of sweet flavours which work really well with the plums. Smothered in golden syrup and soft rolled porridge oats, these buttery flapjacks are great for sharing with the whole family.

If you wanted to add more plums to this recipe you could use dried plums as well as fresh and substitute the sultanas for more plums – perfect!

Everyone loves a classic bread and butter pudding recipe and Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s plum bread and butter pudding is no exception. Following a traditional recipe Hugh has transformed this dish into a mouth-watering pudding by substituting raisins for plums. With layers of sweet creamy bread and tangy warm plums, this dish is a must-have.

Prepare your plums in advance by halving and stoning them with a sharp knife. Bake in a hot oven sprinkled with caster sugar for 20 mins until tender and juicy.

Damsons are sweet wild plums that are in season the same time as regular plums, meaning they are cheap, delicious and ready to be enjoyed. This damson and lemon crunch recipe is a great way to use these wild fruits. This sweet and crunchy dessert recipe combines luxurious vanilla ice cream, crunchy biscuits and tangy damsons to create something heavenly and more-ish.

You can pick damson plums yourself instead of buying them. They grow in trees in hedgerows, thickets and at the edge of woodlands and they’re at their best in September/October when they’re just sweet enough to eat raw. They also make great wine and cordials and are also good for chutney, jam and jellies.

Yes, that’s right – you can even use plums in gravy! This Tikka masala plum gravy is packed full of flavour that will definitely get your taste buds tingling. With the richness of tomatoes and the sweetness of plums, this sauce is mouth-watering. Finished with classic spices like red chilli powder, garlic paste and cumin powder, this sauce is perfect for jazzing up chicken, lamb or beef.

If you don’t have a blender to puree your plums and tomatoes you could always use an electric hand whisk on full powder. Just make sure you wear an apron and use a large mixing bowl so it doesn’t spray every where!

Having the family over for dinner? How about making this delicious and impressive plum pavlova? With crisp, chewy meringue, lashings of whipped cream and juicy roasted plums, this dessert is perfect for sharing and a great way to get the best out of these tangy fruits.

To make the plum sauce; heat the sugar, wine and cinnamon gently in a large pan, until the sugar dissolves. Make sure you place the plums cut-side down in the pan so they can absorb the sweet flavours and release their own into the sauce.

This Weight Watchers plum amaretto pudding is a sensational dessert that you can enjoy on a diet. Packed full of Amaretto-soaked plums, a soft moist sponge and topped with a sprinkle of icing sugar, this sweet pudding is perfect served with warm custard or homemade ice cream.

To get the best flavour out of your plums, soak them in a bowl with liqueur and leave for at least 30 mins to absorb the flavour. The longer you leave your plums, the tastier they will be. If you’re not pushed for time you could even leave them to soak overnight for an extra tangy and alcoholic burst of flavour.

If you fancy a sweet treat for breakfast you should definitely try this French toasts with cinnamon and plum compote recipe. With chunky slices of bread and ruby red compote, this dish is bursting with fruity flavour. Serve with a generous helping of natural yogurt and enjoy.

Plum compote has never been easier to make. All you need is honey, a cinnamon stick and some water. Halve and stone your plums and place in a saucepan to simmer for about 5 mins until the plums are soft.

Plum stromboli is a delicious fruity bread that can be made in an hour. Packed full of sweet fruits like dried sour cherries and of course, tangy red plums, this bread is a moreish afternoon treat that can be served warm or cold.

For this recipe you need to quarter and slice the plums, removing the stone. You then mix them together with the soured dried cherries, light Muscovado sugar and ground mixed spice.