Plums are an incredibly underrated fruit. They work for sweet AND savory applications with ease, dressing up or going casual for whatever the occasion requires. 

Plums are in full swing in my area right now, and, lacking a tree of my own at the moment, I picked up a delightful batch of bubblegum plums from the local farmer’s market. The idea was to put them in cake, but as the late summer temperature climbed, I decided putting them on a cake would be better. That way, I could make a pound cake while the house was cool, then quick-glaze the fresh plums on the stovetop right before dessert. Delightful flavor, lovely presentation, but most importantly — cool house. I’m sure many of you can relate. 

Bubblegum plums smell and taste exactly how I expected something called a “bubblegum plum” to smell and taste. The goal in this dessert, therefore, is to have gently complementary flavors that don’t overwhelm the complex, unique flavor of the fruit. 

Bubblegum Plums with Honey Rosemary Peppercorn Sauce 

Serves 2

1 pound bubblegum plums (or other firm fruit)
1 Tbsp unsalted butter
¼ cup honey (previously unheated; preferably local and golden-colored)
½ tsp dried rosemary
12 peppercorns OR ½ tsp freshly-cracked black pepper (not powdered)
up to 1 ½ Tbsp water
Fresh rosemary sprig, for garnish (optional) 

Place all ingredients in a small saucepot. Whisk together until butter is melted and honey is warmed but not boiling. The sauce will look pretty thin. 

Set it aside to cool and infuse, about 15 minutes. The sauce will thicken as it cools. Strain out solids using a fine-mesh strainer; discard solids. Pour sauce over sliced bubblegum plums or other fruit. Serve over vanilla pound cake or ice cream. 

Why unheated honey?

I chose previously unheated honey for this recipe because it is much thicker than honey that has been heated. This gave me more control over the finished consistency of the sauce. Much easier to thin out a thick sauce than to thicken a thin one! If you use thin honey, you won’t need as much liquid.

Bumping it up a notch: Honey options

The kind of honey you choose will definitely affect the flavor of this dish. Sometimes honey is labeled as being from primarily a single type of blossom (orange blossom, avocado, clover, wildflower, etc). Local honeys, however, often aren’t labeled by blossom. They are, after all, made from whatever blossoms are available in your area.

Generally speaking, darker honeys have a richer, deeper flavor, while lighter-colored honeys have a lighter taste. For this recipe, the kind of fruit used made a big difference in the honey I chose. Bubblegum plums are incredibly sweet, with a complex flavor that smells very much like bubble gum. I didn’t want to lose that, so I chose a golden honey rather than a dark or overly floral variety. Clover honey works great here. I wanted the plums to stay the focal point. That is also why I chose plain water instead of a flavored liquid.

If you are using a different fruit, choosing a complementary honey can be a great way to take the dish up a notch. For example, if you use fresh apricots, orange-blossom honey might be a great plan. Red plums might use wildflower honey.

If you only have one honey available for the season, choosing golden-colored local honey or clover honey is a good bet.

Don’t have bubblegum plums?

This is a fantastically versatile dish. Every ingredient can be adjusted, giving you a vast array of options for a dessert that is all your own. 

If changing up a recipe isn’t for you yet, don’t worry. The one posted above is divine. With the wide variety of honeys, liquids, herbs, and firm fruits available, we can make a lot of tasty combinations. 

Try: 

Apricots: Extra-virgin olive oil (use ½ Tbsp), orange blossom honey, thyme, 10 peppercorns,  and rose water (bonus points for subbing sumac or long pepper for the peppercorns). 

Red or Black Plums: Butter, wildflower honey, ¼ tsp rubbed sage, 8 allspice berries, and red wine or grape juice (NOT red “cooking” wine or red wine vinegar!)

Pluots: Butter, wildflower honey, cinnamon stick, ¼ tsp ground cloves, and white wine or grape juice 

Bananas: Butter, clover honey, ¼ tsp grated nutmeg, 8 allspice berries, and rum

Blackberries: Butter, wildflower or blackberry honey, ¼ tsp rubbed sage, 10 peppercorns, and orange juice