Almond – Walnut Topped Plums with a Soy Custard

As plums are now coming into season, this is a delicious dessert with fresh plums, topped with almonds and walnuts on a custard made from vanilla soy milk.

Ingredients:

for the plums:

• 10 plums
• 1/2 cup ground almonds
• 1/4 cup chopped walnuts
• 1 tablespoon maple syrup
• small pinch salt
• pinch cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons water, as needed

for the custard:

• 2 cups vanilla soy milk
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch

Directions:

Make the custard first.

to make the custard:

1. Place the vanilla soy milk in a small saucepan.
2. Add the sugar, vanilla and cornstarch and stir to mix well.
3. Bring the mixture to a slow boil, stirring constantly.
4. When the mixture has thickened, remove from the heat and allow to cool.

to make the plums:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 F / 204 C.
2. Mix the ground almonds with the small pinch of salt, cinnamon, and maple syrup to make a paste. A bit of water is probably needed to make it a spreadable paste.
3. Halve the plums and remove the seeds.
4. Fill the cavity of each plum with the nut mixture.
5. Top with the chopped walnuts.
6. Place in the oven to bake for 10-15 minutes.
7. Check after 10 minutes to see if the plums are soft, and that the nuts are not too brown.
8. When done, remove from the oven and serve in bowls or plates with the custard.
9. We garnished with a spring of mint.

Notes:

We are trying to cut down in the amounts of sugars and fats used in recipes. We find that fruit recipes often do not need any extra sugars at all. This used just a bit of maple syrup with the nuts, and a bit in the custard. It was a lovely treat. Depending on size of the plums, one full plum per person is usually enough, if they are small perhaps more.