The two plum trees we planted in 2010 have matured. I love the blossoms in spring, and even if they didn’t give us any sweet, juicy plums, I would still have the trees around just for the spring flower show.
This year we had a bountiful harvest. One of the trees was so loaded that some of the upright limbs started bending over with the weight of so many fruits. To prevent the birds and squirrels from making off with all our plums, Michael went out and picked all of them early. So we had piles and colanders full of ripening plums in our kitchen for several weeks, and they seemed to ripen all at once. Suddenly we had pounds and pounds of fresh plums ready to eat, and my guys were up to the task. Michael took a few in his lunch every day and the boys swiped them for quick sweet snacks. A good fresh plum is like candy and so hard to resist.
I saved some for our favorite desserts: a plum pudding cake based on our blueberry pudding cake recipe, and this plum cobbler recipe adapted from Cooking Light. My plum lovers ooh and ahh over pretty red plum desserts, and they love the crunchy biscuits on this cobbler. I like the bit of ginger with the plums, a nice savory touch.
This would also be delicious mixed with cherries or blackberries, or even rhubarb.
- 2-1/2 pounds (1.135 kg) plums, pitted and quartered
- 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
- 3/4 teaspoon grated peeled fresh ginger
- 3/4 cup (83 g) light brown sugar, divided
- 1/8 teaspoon salt, divided
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 3/4 cup (72 g) whole wheat pastry flour
- 3/8 teaspoon baking powder
- 2 tablespoons chilled unsalted butter, cut into pieces
- 1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest
- 3 ounces (85 g) chilled 1/3-less-fat cream cheese, cut into pieces
- 1/4 cup (60 ml) lowfat buttermilk
- 1 tablespoon raw sugar
- Preheat oven to 375° F/190° C.
- Combine the quartered plum, lemon juice, and ginger in the medium bowl. Add 1/4 cup light brown sugar, 1/16 teaspoon salt, and 2 teaspoons cornstarch. Toss it all together, then divide among the prepared ramekins. Place the ramekins on the foil-lined baking sheet.
- In the bowl of the food processor, add the whole wheat pastry flour, the remaining light brown sugar, remaining 1/16 teaspoon salt, and the baking powder. Pulse 3 times. Add the butter, lemon zest, and cream cheese, and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Add the buttermilk and pulse a few more times until blended.
- Drop dough by spoonfuls over the plum mixture, and sprinkle the biscuit tops with the raw sugar. Bake in the preheated oven until the biscuits are golden and the filling bubbly, about 30 to 35 minutes. Allow to cool and serve warm or at room temperature.
medium bowl
6 ramekins (7 to 10 ounces each), lightly greased
baking sheet lined with foil
food processor
Recipe Notes:
The original recipe is for 12 servings baked in a 9x13 pan. For our family, I cut the ingredients in half and made it in ramekins.
The lemon juice can be adjusted depending on the sweetness of the plums.
If you don't keep buttermilk on hand, you can make it. Just put about 1/4 teaspoon lemon juice in the measuring cup, then add lowfat milk until you have 1/4 cup. Let it rest at room temperature for 5 to 10 minutes, then it's ready to use.
More Summer Fruit Recipes
More Plum Recipes From Other Blogs
- Sass and Veracity – Plum Cake
- 5 Second Rule – Spiced Plum Bars
- Dessert for Two – Grilled Stone Fruit + Almond Mascarpone Dip
- Dessert First – Plum and Almond Tart
[Disclosure: I am a member of the Cooking Light Bloggers’ Connection.]
Jodee Weiland says
August 7, 2014 at 1:22 pmI love plums and in a cobbler with whole grain biscuits, that makes it even better…delicious! Thanks for sharing!
Andrea says
August 7, 2014 at 2:08 pmThanks Jodee! I had to save some of the plums for dessert, the guys were going through them very quickly. 🙂