I made this for the first time in Central Otago with apricots poached from an old tree we discovered along a path by the Clutha River. Growing amongst wild thyme these were the most amazing apricots. We ate as many as three greedy girls could manage and then filled up our backpack. For pudding that evening we sliced the apricots in half, covered them with a macaroon topping and baked them. They were so good that we made them again the next night.

A month later and with an abundance of Omega plums from the Sunday market, I decided to try the macaroon topping on some of those. Best idea ever. The tartness of the plums with the crunchy coconut topping is almost addictive; I may or may not have had this for dessert three nights in a row.

Baked Plums with a Crunchy Coconut Topping 

Slightly adapted from Annabel Langbein, Free Range in the City, 2011

cream 1/2 cup

sugar 1/2 cup

vanilla paste 1/2 teaspoon

long thread coconut 1 & 1/2 cups

Omega plums 1-2 per person

Gently heat together the cream, sugar, and vanilla paste until it comes to the boil and the sugar dissolves. The mixture will bubble up so make sure you do this in a medium-sized pot. Put the mixture in a bowl, leave to cool slightly and put into the fridge. The coconut will soak up the cream and the mixture will become much more solid.

Preheat your oven to 160˚C. Slice the plums in half and remove the stone. Place the plums cut side up in an ovenproof dish. Put a large teaspoon full of the macaroon mixture on top of each plum. Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes, or until the topping has turned golden and the plums have released some magenta juice into the bottom of the dish. Serve the macarooned plums with Zany Zeus Greek yoghurt. I can only imagine that these would be heaven for breakfast.