12 December 2008


This was the dessert I chose to make for my Moroccan-themed meal.  It was the only one I found online that didn't involve some weird ingredient like rosewater or orange blossom water.  As you might have guessed from the picture, I didn't use plums.  Apparently plums are not available in Michigan in December!  So I had to use pears.  Having never cooked with pears before, I had no idea what variety to get.  I tried Anjou.

Spiced Plums 

Ingredients:
6 medium red plums or purple plums
½ cup pineapple juice or apple juice
3 tbsp packed brown sugar (divided)
½ tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp cardamom
⅛ tsp cumin
1 pinch nutmeg
⅓ cup light sour cream or nonfat sour cream
cooking spray

Directions:
Preheat oven to 450°. Prepare a 2 qt. baking dish with a good amount of cooking spray.
Prepare plums by slicing in half and removing pits. Place in the baking pan cut side up.
Combine juice, 2 tbsp of brown sugar, and the spices in a small bowl. Drizzle spiced juice over the plums.
Bake the fruit for 20 minutes or until the plums are tender. Note that actual cooking time will vary according to the ripeness of the fruit.
In a small bowl combine the sour cream with the last tablespoon of brown sugar.
Place plum halves in a serving bowl. Dot with sour cream and sprinkle of cinnamon.

Makes 6 servings.

It was okay with the pears, but I can't wait to try it with the plums.  The pears did not really get soft at all, even though I let them bake a lot longer than the recipe called for.  I don't know if it would be this way with all varieties of pears, or if the Anjou are firmer than most.  I am not really very familiar with pears at all.  Like I said, it was okay; just not as good as if the fruit had softened up during baking.

I think the next time I make it, I will also try increasing the amount of the glaze.  I didn't think it was quite enough.  And a lot of it runs off the fruit onto the bottom of the pan, so a little extra would be good, I think.


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