Autumn Plum Fool with Vanilla Almond Cream (and an optional splash of Amaretto)

Indulgent and completely natural

Your eyes are not deceiving you! You are at the right place don’t panic! I have done a pudding 🙂 I know, it’s a rare sight on here because I famously don’t have a sweet tooth but I couldn’t do a month of British food without featuring some proper puds!

I’ve started with a very simple but definitely classic plum fool, this dish dates back to the Elizabethan era where fruits such as rhubarb or plums were cooked down and then stirred into whipped cream. The name fool has less British roots as it was actually derived from the French word ‘foulé’ which means ‘press’ and refers to the fact that the fruit is pressed or puréed.

I’ve done my own twist on the classic by leaving my plum slices fairly whole (just cooked down and slightly crushed to release their juices) and I have added some warming flavours such as cinnamon, ground ginger and amaretto.

I also made a vanilla almond cream and topped the whole thing off with flaked almonds. I hope you like almonds because they really are the base of this dish being in the cream, alcohol and topping!

This pudding is fabulous on a cold autumn day when you really need some delicious comfort food. The amaretto is optional but I think it adds a special touch.

Serves 2

Large handful almonds (around 50g)
1 vanilla pod
1 tblspn Maple syrup or agave syrup
100-200ml milk

3-4 ripe plums
1/2 tspn cinnamon
1/2 tspn ground ginger
1 tblspn Maple syrup or Agave syrup

Splash of amaretto (I’ll leave that quantity up to you)
Sprinkle flaked almonds

Soak your almonds in water overnight. Drain them and put in a blender with the seeds of the vanilla pod, syrup and 100ml milk. Blend until smooth and keep adding milk gradually until you have the consistency of whipped cream. Pour in your desired amount of amaretto and stir.

In a frying pan add the sliced plums, spices and syrup and cook gently for around 10 minutes until the plums are softened and sticky. Then gently squish them slightly

In your bowl first place some plums, then some almond cream, then more plums and finish with almond cream. Top with a sprinkle of cinnamon and some flaked almonds.